Tennessee county history series : Claiborne County / by Edgar A. Holt ; Joy Bailey Dunn, editor, Charles W. Crawford, associate editor

I

Tennessee County History Series

Alicia M. Horton

Assistant Editor
Tennessee County History Series

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Jeanne Ridgway Bigger
Ellsworth Brown
Robert E. Corlew
Arthur H. DeRosier
Winfield Dunn
Walter T. Durham
May Dean Eberling
Odie B. Faulk
John R. Finger
Gerald George
Frank R. Ginanni
Albert Gore, Jr.
Herbert L. Harper
J. Milton Henry
Charles F. Holmes
James K. Huhta
Diana Johnson
B. F. Jones
Billy Mac Jones

Carl A. Jones
Eric Lacy
Roy G. Lillard
James Livingood
Robert M. McBride
William R. Majors
Jerry B. Michel
Jesse C. Mills
Charles F. Ogilvie
Drexel A. Peterson
Daniel A. Powell
Linda Scott
Howard E. Sims, Sr.
Alonzo T. Stephens, Si
Alan R. Thoeny
Jean B. Waggener
Richard W. Weesner
Charles Wolfe

TENNESSEE COUNTY HISTORY SERIES

Claiborne County

by Edgar A. Holt

Joy Bailey Dunn

Editor

Charles W. Crawford

Associate Editor

(

MEMPHIS STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS

Memphis, Ten nessee

Copyright © 1981 Memphis State University Press

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechani-
cal, including photocopying and recording, or by any informa-
tion storage and retrieval system without permission from the
publisher.

Maps prepared by Reaves Engineering, Inc.,
Memphis, Tennessee.

Manufactured in the United States of America.

Designed by Gary G. Gore.

ISBN: 0-87870-101-X

This book is dedicated to those whom I hold especially dear: To
the hard working farmers; operators of grist, flour and carding
mills; doctors, Civil War veterans, teachers, ministers, and mer-
chants who created a vigorous community in historic Lonesome
Valley, centering at Duo, the post office, and at the general store.
This community was exemplified in the hearts and minds of
its people who combined industry and religious faith with an
insight into themselves and the future furnished by dedi-
cated teachers in a one-room country school. Nothing seemed
beyond us.

Acknowledgments

In addition to the background information from books and
articles covering the general history of Upper East Tennessee, I
have derived much factual information from the official records
of the county and the cities of Tazewell and New Tazewell. I
have gained much information from the McClung Collection
located in the Lawson McGhee Library in Knoxville. Staff mem-
bers in the Knoxville library have been generous and efficient. I
thank them heartily. I am most grateful to the staff members of
the register's office and the county court clerk's office in
Tazewell.

Much information has been gained from disparate sources
such as current members of the Tazewell Baptist Church, ceme-
tery records of the Irish Cemetery, and interviews with scores of
people. Through the kindness of Mrs. Marshall Dyer, I have
gained much from the writings of General Peter Graham
Fulkerson, one of the really distinguished leaders of the Taze-
well community. Thanks to many persons who have consented
to interviews: Mrs. Bobby Arnold; Mrs. Wilma Beaty; Hershel
Beeler, New Tazewell recorder; Mrs. Hazel Davis who headed
the welfare department in its formative years when it was grow-
ing out of English common law practices to the professionalism
which stems from the Social Security Act of 1935; Lizzie Mae
Morley, secretary of the OEO staff and a previous county trus-
tee; Jack Munsey, administrator of the Claiborne County Hos-
pital; Clyde Nevils, administrator of the newly established
Claiborne Textiles; Douglas Overton, Tazewell recorder for
many years; and Jacob Walker, current administrator of the
department of human services. Special thanks are due Lee Dan
Stone, not only for supplying me with key documentary mate-
rial, but also for his civic leadership which led from decline to
relative affluence in the county through the development of
water and sewage systems.

Finally, I am grateful to my father and mother for the love
and care which dominated our seven-member family, for the
books and magazines which filled our home, and for the use of
the store account books which furnished much information for
this book and for preceding newspaper articles.

Edgar A. Holt
September 15, 1980

Preface

I have prepared this history of Claiborne County as a labor of
love. I was born to Sarah C. and Newton Lafayette Holt in
historic Lonesome Valley, attended the Mayes Elementary
School in that community, walked four miles each way to the
Claiborne County High School in Tazewell, graduated with a
B.A. in history and literature from Lincoln Memorial University
in the same county, and during teaching stints acquired an M.A.
in history and government from the State University of Iowa
and a Ph.D in history and government from Ohio State Univer-
sity. After college teaching at Southern Illinois University and
the University of Nebraska at Omaha, I entered military service
and eventually retired from the Air Force and university life.
Then I came home to live the remainder of my life in the area of
my choice — Claiborne County. Throughout the years of service
in the United States or overseas, I came back to Claiborne Coun-
ty when on leave or in vacation periods.

I make this rather lengthy statement in this preface because it
is central to what I have to say about Claiborne County, where
the hills and mountains are beautiful beyond comparison with
many areas I have seen in the United States and elsewhere. In all
honesty I must say that my preference is largely due to the love
which dominated our family life in Lonesome Valley and the
atmosphere of hope which sustained our people during an

admittedly stern struggle to "get ahead." Most families in
Claiborne Country lived according to a work ethic which still
survives and has enabled them to pull out of a long period of
steep decline to a position of some considerable affluence.
These are my people; Claiborne is my county.

61

laiborne County, as it now exists, is located in the
northeast part of Tennessee. Hancock County lies to the east,
with the parent state of North Carolina farther beyond. On the
north, Claiborne County is bounded by Bell County, Kentucky;
on the northeast, by Lee County, Virginia; on the southeast and
south by Grainger and Union counties, Tennessee; and on the
west by Campbell County. Thus, the county lies squarely athwart
the Appalachian chain of mountains which run generally from
northeast to southwest broken occasionally by gaps such as the
historic Cumberland Gap. Although the Appalachian Moun-
tains impeded the movement of the population, they were not so
high as to be insuperable. Low lying valleys carry water seaward
to the Atlantic and on the other side of the divide to the Gulf of
Mexico. The valleys, therefore, offered the first openings to the
white men threading their way into the wilderness.

Water and wind erosion have worn down upthrusting peaks
so much that Mt. Mitchell, the highest peak, is now only slightly
above 6000 feet. In comparison, dozens of peaks in the Rocky
Mountains tower to 14,000 feet or more. Limestone mixed with
some igneous rock is the dominant formation in Claiborne
County. Soil which has resulted from wind and water erosion
generally is alkaline and is favorable to the growth of timber and
other forms of vegetation. Topsoil, except in deep valleys, is
shallow because of steep grades which exist in most areas.

2 Tennessee County History Series

Examination of the county's topography and soil explains
much of its early history. The boundary lines between Virginia,
Kentucky, and Tennessee cut across the Cumberland Moun-
tains. The highest point, the Pinnacle, overlooks vast areas of
Claiborne County, Lee County, Virginia, and Bell County, Ken-
tucky. The Pinnacle towers almost 3000 feet, and the Cumber-
lands in this area are about 2000 feet, broken by Cumberland,
Carr, and Wilson's gaps. The mountain sides, especially at
Cumberland Gap, are marked in many places by sharply vertical
limestone walls. The Cumberland Mountains strongly in-
fluenced tribal warfare before the coming of the white man and,
after the white invasion, determined even more vividly the
course of events that followed.

Two rivers, Powell and Clinch, both rising in Virginia, flow
through the county. The Clinch River actually bounds the coun-
ty on the southeast and forms one of the largest embayments of
Norris Lake. The Powell River, shorter of the two, shears away
several miles from the Cumberland Mountains, but no longer
flows into the Powell Valley, which is separated by a back valley
ridge. Geologists have often speculated that the Appalachian
ranges, at one time, rivalled the Rocky Mountains in both alti-
tude and width. At that time the river possibly did follow Powell
Valley. Now the eroded mountains stand much as they did
in 1750 when Dr. Thomas Walker and later Daniel Boone laid
out mountain gaps and beckoned eager frontiersmen to
follow them.

Except for a triangular area in the northwest part of the
Cumberland Mountains, all of the county lies in the Great Valley
of East Tennessee. Today Claiborne Countians know that much
of their history has resulted from the economic differences
between the transmontane region of Fonde and Clairfield and
the remainder of the county. Coal dominated the economy in
this region while the remainder of the county became more
agricultural after an initial timber phase. The general elevation
of the mountain crests in this region is about 2500 feet, with one
peak rising to 3100 feet. Because of this, transportation was and
remains a problem.

That part of the county lying in the Great Valley of East

CLAIBORNE

KENTUCKY

VIRGINIA

Ga P LEE COUNTY

HANCOCK
COUNTY
\

CAMPBELI
COUNTY

GRANGER COUNTY

LEGEND

• COUNTY SEAT
• Other Communities

i-T^l Governmental Land Uses

+ LANDMARKS

SURROUNDING
COUNTIES

V*/ Inferjfote Route

-£*^_ Federal Route
j^- State Route
— s locol Route

RAIL SERVICE

N^ Maror Streams

CLAIBORNE COUNTY

1 2 3 4 5

Tennessee County History Series

Cumberland Gap. On the right is the Pinnacle, 3000 feet; to the left,
Cumberland Mountain continues through a point where Tennessee,
Virginia, and Kentucky meet. Photograph courtesy of the National Park
Sendee.

Tennessee varies widely in relief and elevation. The undulating
and rolling limestone valleys range in elevation from 1200 to
1300 feet; however, the hilly cherty ridges have steep relief and
range from about 1500 feet in the southwestern part of the
county to 1750 feet in the northeast. The shale and sandstone
ridges also are steep. The crests of Powell Mountain, Lone
Mountain, and Wallen Ridge are more than 2000 feet high. The
rocks underlying the Great Valley are limestone, dolomite, acid
shale, calcareous shale, and sandstone. In the geologic past these
rocks experienced severe folding and cross faults that combined
with differential weathering of the strata to give rise to a series of
parallel physiographic belts that cross the valley from northeast
to southwest. Starting in the northwest and proceeding to the
southeast, these belts form 10 distinct divisions: Cumberland
Mountain, Poor Valley Ridge, Powell Valley, Cedar Fork Valley,
Wallen Ridge, Little Ridge, Valley of Little Sycamore Creek,
Comby Ridge, Big Sycamore Knob, and Sycamore Knob.

CLAIBORNE 5

Throughout most of the county water seepage has resulted
in innumerable limestone sinks. In Lonesome Valley, water
from numerous springs flows downgrade unimpeded, except
for man-made dams, until it pours with a mighty rush into an
enormous cavern. There it travels underground for some six
miles to emerge in the Powell River. The place where it enters
the river is called the Blue Hole.

The mild climate which extends the growing season, the
presence of alkaline soil, the heavy rainfall, averaging 55 inches
annually, and the topography of Claiborne County delighted
newcomers who already had learned to associate timber with
fertile soil. Many incoming settlers had knowledge of grist mills
and other mills that could be powered with water. There were
millwrights and raftsmen among them who saw great opportu-
nities to prosper. Throughout Claiborne County and its neigh-
boring areas, early settlers built homes along the creeks and
rivers which also offered a means to transport products to mar-
ket at little cost.

Indians and Frontiersmen

Indian cultures were attracted to Claiborne County because
of the excellent hunting and fishing. The Cherokee, Iroquois,
and Shawnee who inhabited the area led nomadic lives in the
county. The Cherokee possessed an advanced culture that re-
sulted in the growth of towns in Georgia and South Carolina.
They came to the country that would become Tennessee almost
solely for hunting and fishing, as did the Iroquois from the
north. Consequently, Indian wars were a constant feature of
frontier life. The Shawnee, being smaller in number, rarely
opposed the more powerful Cherokee and Iroquois. By mid-
eighteenth century, the Cherokee had become economic and
political allies of the English due to the Indians 1 ready accept-
ance of English-made products. As stated by the Cherokee head
warrior, Skiagunsta, his people could not live without clothing,
weapons, ammunition, and other necessities of life provided by
the English.

In order to bring the distant Cherokee tribes more complete-
ly in line with English trade, military alliances were made

6 Tennessee County History Series

through a puppet government with Moytoy of Great Tellico
who, according to David H. Corkran, was probably the Great
Warrior of the Overhills. When Moytoy died in battle in 1741,
the English in Carolina moved their Indian link to Chota on the
Little Tennessee where they commissioned Moytoy's 13-year-
old son as Ammonscottee emperor. There ensued a period of
uncertainty during which the Carolina influence waned, but the
Cherokee maintained their English connections. Intertribal
politics almost led to an all-out war with the Creeks and their
allies against the Cherokee who had English support. A treaty on
November 29, 1751, regulated trade by restricting it to home-
towns with each Indian trader being confined to that hometown.

Conflict between France and England was often stimulated
by events in America. The royal governors in South and North
Carolina and Virginia were under strong pressure from leading
citizens in their own colonies and by eager land traders who
looked enviously beyond the Appalachian Mountains. After the
Treaty of Paris in 1763, France retained its possessions in the
West Indies but gave England all claims in North America. This
territorial settlement was to have far-reaching effects on the
English colonies in North America and on their claims to the
promised lands beyond the mountains. Some diplomats during
that time argued that England had blundered by removing the
French menace in interior America and by rendering their
citizens less dependent on the mother country for protection. In
1756, the colonists were enthusiastic members of the United
Kingdom. By 1771, they embarked on a program to protect
their rights as English citizens, which resulted in armed revolt
against legislation which stemmed from the commonly accepted
doctrine of mercantilism.

Those colonists who eventually came into what is now
Claiborne County had gone through a process of Americaniza-
tion transforming them unconsciously from English, Scots, or
European into a very different kind of people. After several
generations of closely contested battles with Indians and the
surrounding wilderness, they were much more democratic than
their forefathers. In the tidewater region of the Thirteen Col-
onies the presence of landless persons caused conflict, followed

CLAIBORNE 7

by repressive legislation. Many of these people moved west and
settled on land regardless of whether or not they had legal title.
English yeoman farmers jostled with Scotch-Irish and Germans
for the choicest lands. Many families moved considerable dis-
tances three or four times. In the process they changed speech
habits, adopted new words reflecting their experiences, and
produced a more volatile society than that from which they
came. Long before the revolt against English rule, hunters,
trappers, land agents, and seekers of new homes were on their
way through what is now Claiborne County by way of Powell
Valley, Cumberland Gap, and the Clinch and Powell rivers.
These early settlers made common cause against the Crown.
Though Claiborne County was not established until 1801, the
restless frontiersmen joined forces to combat the Indians and,
when opportunity came, their best riflemen joined with organ-
ized groups to strike out at the English. Others from more stable
societies joined the westward movement, seeking a new start and
access to riches greater than those previously known.

Adventure and hope of profit led colonial hunters, fishers,
and trappers through the gaps in the Appalachian chain and
down the Powell and Clinch rivers. By word of mouth and
through stories in provincial newspapers in Virginia and North
Carolina, these people had learned that riches could be gained
by supplying furs to colonial agents acting for London, Paris, or
Low Country merchants. Before people ventured through the
mountains, they learned the trails used by Indians and their
trading contacts. Many English traders became so successful that
they made permanent homes among the Indians and married
Indian women.

Years before Daniel Boone blazed the trail through Cumber-
land Gap into central Kentucky, hunters and trappers in groups
of six or seven came down the Clinch River to trap and hunt in
what became Claiborne County. One group, led by John Wallen,
became well acquainted with the river and with the adjoining
ridge which now bears Wallen's name. The Wallen group was
very successful and made repeated trips into the county, car-
rying back stories of the riches awaiting those willing to face the
dangers of the wilderness. Other trappers followed Powell River

Tennessee County History Series

■■■HHpr WSSm

Powell River, at the point of water intake for the Upper Powell Valley
Utility District

out of Virginia where they arranged to buy furs from the
Indians. Their reports created a great deal of excitement among
those on the other side of the mountain who had not yet become
well-established planters. Clearly, the trappers and hunters were
opening an empire for those who would seize it.

For two decades prior to the organization of the Claiborne
County government, John Wallen and many others like him
carried on a lucrative trade in furs with the Indians of the region.
John Wallen thought so highly of the area that he remained to
help establish the governing body of Claiborne County. He
became a justice of the peace, appointed by Governor Archibald
Roane, to serve as a member of the Court of Common Pleas and
Plenary Sessions in 1801.

Creation of the County and Its Early Years

The movement of population through gaps, especially the
Cumberland Gap, was so rapid that Tennessee met the constitu-
tional requirements for admission to the Union in 1796 and

CLAIBORNE 9

Kentucky in 1792. The first capitol of Tennessee was located at
Knoxville, where the Legislature on October 29, 1801, created
Claiborne County from Grainger and Hawkins counties and
extended the southern boundary to Anderson County. The
Virginia tidewater aristocrat William C. C. Claiborne was
selected to honor by using his name for the newly formed
county.

For the first few years, the governor appointed magistrates to
govern the area. Archibald Roane, then serving as governor of
the new state, appointed John Carey, James Chisum, Isaac Lane,
Abel Lanham, Joseph Nations, Cavender Newport, George Peal,
James Renfro, William Rogers, Mathew Sims, William Trent,
John Vanbebber, John Wallen, and Joseph Webster asjustices of
the peace. Joseph Cobb and Andrew Evins of Grainger County
were appointed to qualify these justices. On December 7, 1801,
the first government of Claiborne County was organized at the
Powell Valley home of John Owens. Record keeping and a
fulcrum from which to operate necessitated a clerk, but on the
first day of its existence the court failed to fill this important
position. On the next day the Court of Pleas and Plenary Ses-
sions elected Walter Evans as clerk. He served the county faith-
fully and expertly for many years. John Hunt was chosen as high
sheriff, an extremely important office, especially in the early
years when the burgeoning community was filled with many who
had rejected the laws of their previous homes east of the moun-
tains. Hunt was to serve in this capacity several times. An able
lawyer, Luke Bowyer was appointed solicitor with a salary of $ 1 2
for each court session. Ezekial Craft was elected register. It was
significant that two men, Samuel Cloud and Fielding Lewis,
whose families are still influential in the county's economy and
politics, served as security. These men were bonded to insure
against fraud.

Very soon there was a need to establish the center of the
county's government nearer to the center of the county's
population. John Owen's home in Powell Valley was within sight
of Cumberland Gap through which immigrants journeyed. The
Kentucky Road ran southward from Powell Valley and in an
easterly direction through two communities eager to be

10

Tennessee County History Series

Home of John Hunt, where the county court held its first Tazewell
meeting. This photograph of a painting by Hazel Davis of Harrogate
was made by E. J. Hardin IV.

chosen — Tazewell, named for the well-known Virginia
Tazewells, and Springdale, located on Little Sycamore Creek
where many newcomers trapped.

Benjamin Cloud or his ancestors had lived in Claiborne
County for many years and his lively interest combined with
some imagination led him to publish in the Claiborne Progress
accounts of old time Tazewell. Tazewell was selected as the
county seat over Springdale and according to Cloud's account of
the legend, Tazewell won out because too many people over the
ridge in Springdale imbibed too freely for the exercise of the
franchise on decision day.

Thus, the next session of the county court met in Tazewell at
the home of John Hunt on Kentucky Road. Walter Evans was
present to record the session. More importantly, he also main-
tained legible and accurate records of legal actions in the county.
Justices of the peace present at this first Tazewell session were
Carey, Chisum, Lane, Lanham, Nations, Renfro, Trent, and

CLAIBORNE 11

Webster. The court accepted attorneys Luke Bowyer, James
Bray, and James Trimble. Sheriff Hunt pointed out an embar-
rassment to the performance of his duties — there was then no
jail. A crude structure shortly was built, to be replaced soon by a
more secure stone and brick structure which still stands and is
currently used by the city of Tazewell for storage.

Many actions needed to be taken to meet the needs of the
county's citizens, but the primary concern was the acquisition of
titles to lands. That need was a process that continued until 1 890,
when even the western frontier disappeared.

Even in 1801 there were some citizens who needed assistance
simply to survive. In the earliest years, the court cared for needy
persons by single appropriations. John Murphy was low bidder
when he agreed to care for one person for $14.50 until the next
court term. In December of 1819, the court gave to the lowest
bidder, Drury Herrel, the sum of $103.75 for care of three
persons. In May of 1820 the court approved an appropriation of
$20 to provide care for an individual for a period of one year. As
the number of needy persons increased with the county's
population, the county poor house was established with welfare
care again being allocated to the lowest bidder.

Throughout the first half-century of its life, the Claiborne
County Court of Pleas and Plenary Sessions frequently meted
out frontier justice for such common offenses as trespass, bastar-
dy, assault and battery, murder, libel, theft, and disputes arising
from interpretations of agreements between individuals and
groups. The court had an enormous and complicated task in
applying laws so that the citizens could live in a reasonable state
of peace. Trespass was not a common offense, but bastardy often
engaged the attention of the court. In May of 1812 a woman
brought suit against a gentleman acquaintance for support of a
child "which had been begotten on her body by the said . . ."
gentleman. The court awarded her $130 for the support of the
child. In November of 1819 a bastardy indictment was quashed
on grounds of a question of identity. The defendant was tried in
the next court session under an alias indictment.

Libel charges were rare but the disposition of such cases by

1 - Tennessee County History Series

Claiborne County jail, built about 1816

the fledgling court deserves mention. In one instance the court
upheld the charge of libel and awarded 25^ to the complainant
but required him to pay the court costs. Assault and battery were
the most frequent of all charges, but few actually found their way
into court since it was a tacit assumption that each man was the
keeper of his own honor.

Predators, especially wolves, frequently endangered live-
stock; therefore, the court felt obliged to pay bounties for each
wolf. Payment was awarded by bringing the wolfs ears into court
and by testifying as to the age of the wolf and the location of the
kill. A further protection to owners of livestock was the assign-
ment of markers to protect an individual's property against
those who mistakenly might claim an animal. For example, in
June of 1802 the court decreed that Peter Huffaker could mark
his cattle with a smooth cup on the left ear and a slit on the
right ear.

Disputes between dealers in real estate inevitably arose and
sometimes came into court. One such dispute involved a case

CLAIBORNE 13

brought against Elisha Wallen by several partners who re-
quested the court to award them damages resulting from the sale
of lands that they had agreed jointly to buy and sell on the basis
of an equal division of the proceeds. The court found for the
complainant and ordered Wallen to repay the partnership the
sum of $593.33.

Even before the court began the long process of awarding
titles to county land, the rush for lands in the Old Southwest had
begun. The rush for Claiborne County land befitted the times
and the existing transportation facilities. Viewed in depth this
land rush produced lasting effects. Here was the struggle by
hunters, trappers, householders, and typical frontiersmen to
acquire land leading to the hope of fame and fortune. Frederick
Jackson Turner saw in this struggle and the hundreds of other
western developments a process that democratized America and
the persuasiveness of his rhetoric influenced American his-
tory for years to come. One of Turner's followers, Thomas
Abernethy, deviated somewhat from Turner's interpreta-
tion and pointed to countervailing trends in the new lands of
Tennessee and Kentucky where those who struggled to own
land competed with the agents of special privilege who profited
by the easy availability of land far more than those who toiled
upon it.

On April 18, 1783, before Claiborne County was organized
or Tennessee was admitted to the Union, North Carolina's
General Assembly granted Richard Henderson and others
200,000 acres of land in Powell Valley; starting at Lead Mine
Bend on Powell River and lying on both sides of that river and on
Clinch River after the juncture of the two streams. To make it
more readily available to eager buyers, the large grant was sur-
veyed and divided into plots of 6500 acres on Powell River and
4375 acres on both sides of the Clinch, except for the south-
ernmost plot which ran to 10,000 acres. Prior to Tennessee's
admission to the Union, titles to county lands continued to
exchange hands. The governors of North Carolina and Tennes-
see after 1796 increased the number of patent grants to indi-
viduals thus placing them at a great advantage over others who

14 Tennessee County History Series

sought new homes. Much of what transpired in the Claiborne
County court for a half-century thereafter was concerned with
exchanging land titles in the Henderson grant.

In another grant #642, the governor of North Carolina gave
to Stokely Donelson and a man named King on January 24,
1795, land that was processed through the Washington County
land entry office, a North Carolina agency. James Glasgow, who
dealt actively in Claiborne County land through his attorney
John Adair of Knox County, sold 300 acres of land from the
Donelson grant to William Henderson for the sum of $450.
Another patent grant #290, dated December 20, 1787, was
made to William Cocke, who in turn sold a portion of it to John
Cocke of Grainger County. He in turn sold a portion in October
of 1 8 1 to John Hall of Sumner County. One sale in the Tazewell
area that was derived from the #290 grant was made from John
Hall to Benjamin Posey on October 22, 1810, for $548. Posey
played a leading role in the life of early Tazewell. On September
3,18 1 0, James Glasgow sold 1 00 acres to Uriah Coins. Governor
William Blount followed the well-developed trend by granting
Edward Shipley and heirs a parcel of land in the District of
Hamilton on Tye's Branch.

In a lawsuit which grew out of the Wallen partnership dis-
pute, Joseph Williams divulged the sale of land from certain
other grants: 640 acres from #1590, 640 acres from #2209, and
440 acres from #2255. The sale of lands from these grants
covered most or all of the county area lying between Clinch River
and the watersheds of Russell, Straight, and Barren creeks.
During the first 20 years after the organization of the county's
government, most of the lands encompassed in these patent
grants were sold to those people who came to build homes and
establish businesses.

Walter Evans, on September 17, 1808, noted that active land
trader Nathaniel Davis sold to George Petrie 200 acres of land in
the Henderson grant, carved out of Lots D and E. In November
of the same year, he again sold to Petrie other parts of the same
lots, which involved portions of Lead Mine Bend on Powell
River. In June of 1808 Thomas Lane with Joseph Evans took
title for a parcel of land in Lot F. On September 15, 1809,

CLAIBORNE

15

Plot of the 200,000 acres on the Clinch River and its tributaries granted
to Richard Henderson and others

16 Tennessee County History Series

Thomas McLane sold 1 14 acres for $400 to James Helms from
the Henderson grant which were described legally as No. 2 in
Lots FF and GG. The lower lots belonged to the heirs of Noah
Hart. On May 6, 181 l,John Mclver, acting in behalf of the estate
of Josiah Watson of Pennsylvania, sold Lots C and D. One tract
was the northeastern section of Lot I, generally known as the
Yoakum Station tract, which amounted to 3550 acres. The seller
retained 150 to 200 acres and later sold them to William Maddy.
The upper half of Lot I, consisting of 606 acres, was also sold for
the Watson estate. Interestingly enough, attorneys for both sides
of the transaction determined how payments were to be made.
The Yoakum Station tract had early use as a military bastion
against Indian attacks.

By 1820 the brisk business of exchanging land titles had
become so routine that an entry made by a prospective buyer in a
land entry office at Tazewell would indicate the size, location,
and price of the lot. This was followed by a survey arranged for
by the buyer and then closure of the sale.

Simeon Frost made entry for 5000 acres of land on Wallen's
Ridge, from Bailey Gap toward Sycamore Creek. The survey
was made by James S. Norvell who served as county surveyor for
many years and who became the owner of a considerable
amount of land. John Farmer claimed 5000 acres of land in the
Mulberry Gap region and on July 19, 1837, Norvell surveyed
4 1 3 acres to be sold by Farmer. On August 22, David Richardson
and John Coke entered a claim to 2000 acres of land on Cumber-
land Mountain. This claim started with land lying on the di-
viding boundary of Claiborne and Campbell counties and the
survey was made by Norvell on September 29, 1837. William
Baldridge entered a claim to 1000 acres of land on Poor Valley
Ridge. His claim was also surveyed by Norvell on February 13,
1839. William Kincaid entered large claims to land adjoining the
Henderson grant, 3000 acres on October 6, 1836, and 5000
acres on August 10, 1838; Norvell surveyed both claims.

In July of 1848, Peter Marcum and James N. Cheek entered
a claim to land on the north side of Powell River up to the
headwaters of Little Creek. The county surveyor, Nathaniel B.
Capps, made the survey. James Ritter entered a claim for 4400
acres of land lying between Powell River and Little Sycamore

CLAIBORNE 17

Creek. Peter Marcum surveyed this land in December of 1849.

Among Tazewell's leaders in merchandising, building, law,
and local government who invested wisely and extensively in
land during the city's early years were Walter Evans, William and
Hugh Graham, Benjamin Posey, Benjamin Sewell, and mem-
bers of such families as the Chadwells, Fulkersons, Houstons,
Hursts, Wales, and many others. The lands acquired by Hugh
Graham placed him astride the Kentucky Road and afforded
him a suitable site for construction of one of Tazewell's most
famous homes — Castle Rock. William, Hugh's older brother,
acquired significant portions of Tazewell on which he built two
homes that eventually were listed on the National Register of
Historic Places. He also built the city's only Presbyterian church.

Road building was a major problem at the county's beginning
and still is one due to the area's hilly topography and heavy
rainfall. From 1801, the county court recognized the importance
of roads in bringing many necessities of life to this wilderness
community and in carrying the surpluses produced to the out-
side world. As early as December of 1802, the court gave to
Elnathan Davis the responsibility for constructing and maintain-
ing a road from Barren Creek at Sandlick to the Straight Creek
Road. All able-bodied males 21 years old and over along that
road had as their civic duty to furnish labor for five days. Some-
times, upon petition, the court would absolve a man from this
responsibility if his physical condition so warranted. In later
years so many men petitioned for release from this obligation
that the court added the requirement of a doctor's certificate.
In 1801 the first court gave John Wallen, aided by Captain
Huffaker's company, the formidable job of building and main-
taining the road from Powell River to the top of Cumberland
Mountain. In those days all male citizens were assigned to
specific "captains" to perform a variety of civic duties such as
road work. In its March of 1802 session the court appointed a
committee, called a jury, to lay out a road from Old Town
Creek to John Bullard's ferry on Clinch River. In November
of 1819, the court appointed Peter Huffaker to supervise
road work on a road that began at "William Elys to the mouth
of a hollow along the old path to the Kentucky Road" and
from there to Roddy's Ferry on Powell River.

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Tennessee County History Series

Surveyor's drawing
of the Hugh Graham
homesite, Castle
Rock

CLAIBORNE 19

The court clearly aimed to construct passable wagon roads
throughout most of the county, with Tazewell being the hub of
roads from Kentucky to a crossing of the Clinch Mountain, from
the Cedar Fork area of land, Little Sycamore, and Big Sycamore,
and down Little Barren Creek toward Knoxville, the capitol city.
Even at that early date, Knoxville gave promise of being the
commercial center of East Tennessee. The Kentucky Road,
from Cumberland Gap through Tazewell and beyond the
Clinch Mountain to connect with roads to the south, was the
main artery although Powell Valley developed as an important
artery of commerce due to the productivity of valley farms and
the number of settlers who came to build homes on the Hender-
son grant. A necessary part of the area's primitive transportation
system were ferries which were approved to be built across the
Powell and Clinch rivers. Bullards operated a ferry across Clinch
River, but in December of 1802 the court authorized Robert
Yauldy to build a ferry at the point where Kentucky Road
crossed Clinch River. The established allowable charges were
1 2 X /H for each man and horse, 50^ for a two-wheel carriage, and
6!/4# for each head of cattle.

Occasionally the court recognized the need to create public
places of entertainment, including places for food and drink. In
February of 1812, the court authorized James A. Perryman and
William Dobbs to operate such places in Tazewell, George Evans
to maintain a house of entertainment at the Clinch River ferry,
and Christopher Dawson to operate for a period of one year at
his home. Perhaps the most extensively used inn by travelers was
the one built by Elijah Evans at the crossing of Clinch River and
Kentucky Road. It had become so well known that many families
planned in advance to stay there overnight or for longer periods
of time. Lively Welsh songs drew many people to this pleasant
hostelry.

Early County Development

By June of 1802, the Claiborne County Court of Pleas and
Plenary Sessions had settled into the performance of routine
duties, even though this meeting was only its third. Like the first
two court sessions, the third meeting was held in a home, that of

20

Tennessee County History Series

Elisha Wallen, Sr., at Tazewell. Justices of the peace present
were Isaac Lane, Abel Lanham, Cavender Newport, George
Real, James Renfro, William Rogers, and Joseph Webster. To
defray the cost of government, the court set a real estate tax of
12V : 2C per 100 acres, 25tf for each black person, and $1 per capita
for white persons and for each stud horse. In the February of
1812 court session, only John Doughterty, Abel Lanham, and
John Yanbebber were present. Despite this, the court proceed-
ed to handle pressing governmental requirements, such as ap-
pointing Salathiel Martin to administer the sale of the estate of
Samuel Frit.

A necessary action near the end of each court session was to
appoint a list of people to serve on the grand jury in February of
the following year. The court in November of 1812 appointed
Alexander Bales, George Campbell, Samuel Cloud, John
Condry, William Condry, Robertson Dobbins, Lazarus Dodson,
Elias Harrison, Thomas Huddleston, Hardy Hughes, Abraham
Hunter, Elijah Hurst, Amos Johnston, Nathaniel McNabb,
Thomas McVey, David Morse, John Neal, William Packer,
Michael Pearson, Peter Perryman, John Rogers, George Sharp,
John Sumpter, James Vanbebber, Thomas Whitted, Samuel
Wiatt, and William Williams to grand jury duty.

The court in 1819 appointed the following jurors to form a
panel for the next circuit court: Peter Arnwine, John Baker,
William Barnwell, Breamt Breeding, Alexander Campbell,
Michael Cannon, Jacob Castle, Thomas Clark, Samuel Cloud,
Daniel Cofelt, Robert Crockett, John W. Dowele, John Gravis,
John Huddleston, Joseph Hunter, Tideance C. Lane, Leavis
Morris, James Overton, John Rhea, John Simmons, James
Vanbebber, Jacob Vandeventer, and Beaufort W. Woodall. The
court also appointed 26 men to serve as jurors when needed;
Isaac Bullard, John Carr, John Condry, George Ford, and John
Hodges were included.

As late as February of 1820, Governor Joseph McMinn, as
heretofore, appointed members to the court. He appointed
William Graham, the architect, religious and educational leader;
Archer Bales, George Brock, John Brock, Alexander Campbell,
Aaron Davy, Mercurious Cook, John Evans, John Huddleston,

CLAIBORNE 21

John Hunt, John Lynch, John Neil, and Josiah Ramsey. Many
of these men continued to appear prominently in the county's
early history.

Hugh Graham became known widely throughout his
adopted state of Tennessee through his real estate transactions,
his ready support of the religious and educational activities of his
brother William, and through purchases from the mercantile
establishments in Philadelphia and Baltimore. The Grahams
were Scottish Presbyterians who lived for some time in Northern
Ireland before they migrated to America. By 1830, Hugh had
carved a separate career with emphasis on quality merchandise
and intellectual leadership.

Throughout most of his life as a merchant, Hugh Graham
made use of a new breed of wagon drivers to bring directly
to Tazewell merchandise from such eastern port cities as
Philadelphia and Baltimore. Transportation of merchandise be-
tween these port cities by means of packet lines became routine
by 1830; from Baltimore to Tazewell wagon trains were used.
The following illustrations reveals the costs of such transporta-
tion. On June 25, 1833, the wagoner Joseph Ryan received
$179 from Hugh Graham for hauling 1436 pounds of merchan-
dise from Baltimore to Tazewell. A month later another driver,
James Barassions, charged Graham $229.89 for hauling 4319
pounds of merchandise from Baltimore to Tazewell. By the
1830s Tazewell also had become a stopping point on a stage line
that came down the Kentucky Road to Tazewell and on across
Clinch Mountain to southern points.

Graham also bought quality merchandise from such
Knoxville wholesalers as Gammons, Gaines, and Company, the
successors of Williams and Company. One such purchase orig-
inated in Charleston, South Carolina, on December 25, 1851,
and came part way by railway freight on the Western and Atlan-
tic Railroad. Graham bought much of his tobacco merchandise
from Andrew Padlock of Harrodsburg, Kentucky. One such
shipment occurred on June 14, 1833, consisting of nine boxes of
Miles's "segars" at $ 1 1 .68 per box, eight dozen paper cut and dry
tobacco at $8, and five boxes of tobacco at $84.50

Despite the presence of numerous prime settlement loca-

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Tennessee County History Series

Parkey House, built by William Graham about
1816; a focal point on Kentucky Road and a
center of area political life. Although the house is
no longer standing, the site is listed on the
National Register.

Shell Hotel in Tazewell

CLAIBORNE 23

tions of salt licks in the county, there was still a strong demand
for imported salt. By 1830, the county's population of 8470
persons was greater than that of any neighboring counties, ex-
cept Knox; therefore, an increased demand for the preservative
existed. From time to time, Graham bought many barrels of salt
from Hugh White, a well-known name in Tennessee history.

The Graham brothers, especially Hugh, became known
throughout the eastern United States as gentlemen with literary
tastes. Knowledgeable people of that time believed that Hugh
Graham's personal library was one of the best in the South. By
1850, he subscribed to the New York Journal of Commerce, Puritan
Recorder, LitteWs Living Age, American and Foreign Christian Union,
Presbyterian of the West, Missionary Herald, British and North
American Review, and magazines from Philadelphia and
Baltimore, which were for sale in his store and for his own use.
He offered a wide assortment of books which possibly em-
phasized religion. Examples of these books were Shield's
and Whiteman Rutter's Spelling Books, Small Primers, American
Primers, Goddard's Hymns, English Readers, Hervey's Meditation,
Hall's United States. Pilgrim's Progress, Walker's Dictionary and
Kirkham's Grammar. Edw 7 ard Littell, one of the nation's best
known literary publishers and critics of the time, enjoyed a
vigorous correspondence with Graham, referring to him as
"my ancient correspondent."

Sales at Graham's store were conducted on a credit basis
which resulted in some debtors resorting to surrender of their
lands or chattels. In spite of this, the volume of his business was
great enough that he survived the ups and downs of price levels.
There was some evidence that by the 1850s business had slowed
up so that he resorted more frequently to foreclosures; however,
most of his customers remained solvent. The list of names in his
account book indicated that his store was the leading institution
of its kind in the county at that time. In 184(5, there were 500
names in his account books, some of whom were Elizabeth Buis,
Martin Burchfield, J. Chadwick, W. R. Evans, David Fullington,
John Hurst, David Lambert, Joseph Large, John Mason,
Michael Montgomery, John Pearson, and John W. White.

Over the period of 20 years from 1822 to 1842, Hugh

24

Tennessee County History Series

m

&-5K r

BRK . I

**'

Castle Rock, home of Hugh Graham in Tazewell. This photograph was
made long after Graham's death.

Graham continued to acquire land, especially in the Tazewell
area along Russell Creek and up to a town spring at Academy
Hollow. Some of this land, probably six and one-half acres, was
bought from Tennessee Margraves and surveyed by Walter
Evans. This location placed Graham in a position to tap the
lucrative traffic which followed the Kentucky Road and to afford
the beautiful home site on which he built "Castle Rock" in 1842.
On September 27, of that year, Graham entered into a con-
tract with Wesley Chittum to build his castle. Interestingly
enough, the Chittums still remain well-known home builders.
The house was to be a two-story brick structure, 42 feet long and
32 feet wide, with a two-story ell 32 feet by 22 feet. The first floor
ceiling was 1 1 feet and the upper story ten feet, with a brick
cornice to the ell and the main house. Two fireplaces were at the
south end of the house and two at the north. Graham had as
many doors and windows as he desired. The ell was used as a
kitchen and dining room. The inside walls were not to exceed
two courses of salmon brick laid together, and the hard brick

CLAIBORNE 25

between the outside courses were painted white. The contrac-
tors fired the brick and prepared other materials from local
sources. Chittum built this castle within 12 months for the price
of $1400, that was paid as follows: $300 in 12 months, another
$300 in one year, $400 in one payment, and the remaining $400
paid in goods from Graham's store.

"Castle Rock" became a noted Tazewell fixture and was
presided over by Graham and his gracious wife, Catherine
Nenney Graham, a native of Bent Creek, Tennessee, whose ex-
pensive tastes set the style for local society. Together with the
Fulkersons, the Hughes, the Pattersons, and the Sewells, an ac-
tive social life in this thriving county seat town was built only to be
devastated too soon by the fratricidal strife of the Civil War.

Grist Mill Communities

From 1801 to 1901, life in Claiborne County revolved, to a
considerable extent, around the grist mill. These ubiquitous
facilities, so characteristic of the invading civilization, sprung up
throughout the county wherever underground and run-off wa-
ter furnished enough power. The enumeration of each mill in
the county and the relationship of the mills' historical develop-
ment to county life would require extensive space; therefore, a
limited number of illustrations will be cited.

The exploitation of water resources in Lonesome Valley was
proof of man's ability to use his talents and to develop through
hard work communities marked by industrial activity, religion,
schools, and vigorous social life. These work communities re-
volved around those activities which served as catalysts to the
community just as crossroads country stores did. It was the triad
of school, church, and industry that produced a thriving com-
munity. These developments were initiated in Lonesome Valley
with a grist mill built by Jonathan Mayes who came there in the
early 1800s. Timber was abundant, proving the fertility of the
soil, and water was everywhere due to heavy rainfall. Springs,
some large enough to pour 2500 gallons a minute into the main
stream, existed all along the valley floor, Mayes, a millwright, set
up a grist mill on the Lonesome Valley Creek using only the
normal flow of water in the initial stages. Later, after he became

26

Tennessee County History Series

Mayes-Holt home in Lonesome Valley. From this site
Jonathan Mayes began his milling enterprises. Several gen-
erations of Holts and Mayeses were born here.

well established, he moved to another location downstream. His
log home was located on a knoll above the creek.

Mayes and his wife Polly had four children, one of whom was
Jerrield D., born in 1814. He and his son, James, served in the
Union Army during the Civil War. Before and after his military
service, J. D. Mayes carried on the mill tradition. Eventually, he
built a rolling mill that ran day and night after two dams were
built upstream to impound the water.

This was not the end of the water-powered saga because
Mayes's upstream neighbors also built an impoundment dam,
erected a grist mill operated by Dr. Willis Baldwin, and a carding
mill, operated by Andrew Bellamy, which cleaned wool from
sheep which were raised nearby. After the water was used for
these mills, it was directed across the valley floor to the area
known as the "sinks." There, it powered the sawmill that sup-
plied lumber and lumber products to a wide area.

On the same side of the valley floor and across a road which
led sharply upward to a productive farming area was an eco-
nomically important blacksmith shop. This smithy used coke,
also produced on nearby family farms.

CLAIBORNE 27

Sarah C. Mayes, daughter of J. D. Mayes, married Newton
LaFayette Holt after he had obtained the best education avail-
able in the post-Civil War period by graduating from the
Tazewell Academy and from the Abingdon Academy at Abing-
don, Virginia. The sons of J. D., Daniel H., and W. S. Mayes and
Holt then established a general merchandise store which soon
became known as the N. L. Holt General Merchandise Store. It
drew customers from most of Claiborne County, as well as from
Virginia and Kentucky. The grist, flour, and saw mills, and the
blacksmith shop together provided irresistible lures to custom-
ers. In the 1890s a post office was established in one of the
two Holt store buildings and operated as Duo, Tennessee,
until 1906.

Upstream from the Mayes mill, Dr. Willis Baldwin estab-
lished an essential part of the growing Lonesome Valley Com-
munity. He married Callie Bellamy, daughter of Orleana Mayes
Bellamy and Walker Bellamy. When J. D. and James Mayes
entered the Union Army, they relied upon Bellamy to educate
the children — Daniel H., William C, and Sara Katherine — and
to teach them the principles of Christian faith. Writing from his
post in Nashville, Mayes urged Bellamy to "teach Katie her
letters." Katie later was known as "Aunt Kate" to the hundreds of
customers who flocked to Holt's general store.

At least three grist mills operated in the Barren Creek Com-
munity, one of which was the present Johnson mill that supplies
water-ground corn meal to the passing public. Another mill was
located on the John Chumley farm, which with the aid of up-
stream dams, developed into a flour mill. The third was oper-
ated by John Thompson. In 1917 a catastrophic flood created
from a cloudburst-size rainfall burst the upstream dams and
swept away the mills. Sixteen persons who lived along the stream
were drowned. Barren Creek recovered from this tragedy and
mill activity returned. Forty years later, a large embayment of
Clinch River, which was impounded by Norris Dam in 1936,
brought an altogether different life-style to the hundreds of
local and visiting people who built homes along its shores or
fished its waters.

Grist mill economy greatly affected life in the Powell Valley
during the land rush period. David William Rogers ( 1 799- 1833)

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Tennessee County History Series

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel H. Mayes; he was the grand-
son of Jonathan Mayes.

Good friends and leading citizens: seated second from left, Pleasant H.
Poore, Duo postmaster; seated third from left, Tom Lambert; standing
extreme right, Sam Richardson, merchant and farmer; standing second
from right, Newton Lafayette Holt, merchant and farmer.

CLAIBORNE 29

was the first of that family to settle in the valley. He and his sons
built a log dam to impound water and then constructed a grist
mill. This mill remained in action throughout the century. In
1900 the family dismantled the old log dam and replaced it with
one made from quarried limestone. In 1976 the Tennessee
Department of Agriculture awarded the family a certificate of
honor for having farmed the same land for at least a century, so
designating the Rogers Brothers Farms as a century farm. Other
century farms include the Holt farm in Lonesome Valley, oper-
ated by Edgar A. and Alice Holt, and the Pearson farm on Little
Sycamore, operated by Henry Pearson.

About one-half mile from the "sinks" of Lonesome Valley
Creek was Mayes Chapel Methodist Church. It was built of logs
initially, then later of wood siding, and finally of brick. This
church, along with neighboring Baptist churches, taught area
people through revival meetings and through a generally de-
voted clergy who created among the people a lively sense of their
moral obligations to God and to their fellow man.

Upstream, above what came to be known as Holt Cave, the
county constructed Mayes Elementary School, a public school.
In its early years, the school term was four or five months long,
but by 1900, as the county's ability to finance increased, the
school year was extended to eight or nine months. During the
years, many parents subscribed funds to employ teachers for
subscription schools. Schools became the center of most com-
munity-wide activities such as dramas which instructed the
youth and entertained the adults. At one time early in the 1900s,
that area's population was such that more than 100 pupils were
enrolled in the Mayes Elementary School. This school and its
building now have given away to consolidation, but many of its
graduates have made outstanding contributions to county life,
and five of them obtained doctorates. A graduate of this
Lonesome Valley school, Luther Mayes, after receiving his de-
gree from the University of Tennessee's -College of Agriculture,
served as Claiborne County's agricultural agent; Perry E.
DuBusk and Walter E. Baldwin both served as county superin-
tendent of schools; Alfred Baldwin served as principal of the
Claiborne County High School; and James W. Baldwin was a
member of the faculty of the University of Texas.

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Tennessee County History Series

CLAIBORNE 31

Organization of Religious Groups

Religious faith accompanied the westward movement of
white men into what is now Claiborne County. This is not to say
that all frontiersmen were pious or even observers of the Ten
Commandments but most of them held to a deeply-rooted faith.
Organized religious practices varied from the structured faith of
the Presbyterians to the Baptists whose churches were congrega-
tionally controlled and thus differed from one church to the
other. Such tidewater churches as the Episcopalians were few in
number on the frontier and usually limited to missions. Among
all the denominations except perhaps the Episcopal, the word to
the faithful was carried by itinerant ministers on horseback.
Some, such as Peter Cartwright, had enormous powers of per-
suasion — sometimes sufficient to quell the most obstinate
ruffian. In contrast to Cartwright, the frail Bishop Asbury of the
Methodist Episcopal Church prepared the way, far and wide for
the growth of Methodism on the frontier. The bishop's ardent
belief in God's invitation to men to turn away from sin more than
compensated for his physical weakness, and he converted many.

During the first 20 years of the nineteenth century, the Great
Awakening which began in New England exercised enormous
influence on the New West. Many communities held camp meet-
ing revivals attended by whole families who brought food and
shelter for weeks of singing, shouting, praying, and preaching;
the results of such intense experiences occasionally brought
strange manifestations of the Holy Spirit at work. Camp meet-
ings did influence the growth of churches of the county with the
Baptist and Methodist groups gaining number more rapidly
than the Presbyterians. For that reason, the establishment of the
Presbyterian church in Tazewell is significant. It was a successful
church long past the lifetimes of its creators and supporters,
William and Hugh Graham. William's considerable wealth and
high level of education added to an earnest desire to promote
the church and education. He gave support to Tazewell College
for many years.

The establishment and growth of the Baptist church in
Tazewell was closely linked with that of the Presbyterian church.

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Tennessee County History Series

Scene of many Sunday afternoon outings, a water-powered sawmill at
the "sinks" of the creek in Lonesome Valley.

The Presbyterians encouraged their Baptist brethren and even
obtained the site for the Baptist church. Continuing into mod-
ern times, the spiritual descendants of Roger Williams have
prospered in Claiborne County. Almost every community has a
Baptist church.

It is difficult to measure separately the effect of churches on
life in Claiborne County. What is almost certain is that wherever
the practice of the faith was combined with formal or informal
education and industry, the results have been good.

Civil War Period

As controversy divided the nation in the years preceding the
actual outbreak of Civil War violence, the people of Claiborne
County also were divided. The division sometimes erupted with-
in families, and often neighbors took opposite sides. Even so,
without the compelling pressure from Washington and the
southern states which led secessionist sentiment, the Claiborne

CLAIBORNE 33

people possibly would not have taken arms. In the first place,
there was strong Unionist sentiment throughout the county, and
slavery was much less important in the area than in other parts of
Tennessee where larger plantations existed. Furthermore, the
county's economy was related more to that of its northern neigh-
bor than to that of Nashville or Memphis. For many years, the
Whigs of East Tennessee had sided with northern Whigs to
establish a national banking system, to promote internal im-
provement through the use of Federal funds, and even to sup-
port a moderate protective tariff. Except for a relatively small
group of vocal abolitionists, the anti-slavery movement had not
yet been able to dominate either the Democrats, trje Whigs, or
the newly formed Republican party.

However, the national election of 1860 clearly indicated divi-
sions in the political parties, and the slavery issue gained import-
ance. It could no longer be avoided even in Claiborne County.
The leading merchant, Hugh Graham, carried on a most reveal-
ing correspondence with Edward Littell, who regarded slavery
as a great moral wrong but thought that the controversy was so
dangerous to national unity that politicians should not endanger
the Union by needless conflict. As a border state, Tennessee
delayed its choice until the very last moment and then followed,
reluctantly, her sister states into the ranks of the Confederacy.
Ironically, the Confederate leader Jefferson Davis was born in
Kentucky near the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln who pledged
himself to save the Union.

The course of economic and political events in Claiborne
County was a matter for individual choice. Claiborne County,
along with other East Tennessee counties, furnished thousands
of troops to the Union Army. The Union Army organized its
Tennessee recruits into three cavalry and four infantry regi-
ments. On May 9, 1861, Tennessee Governor Isham G. Harris
organized a provisional army which became part of the Con-
federate forces on July 31, 1861. Harris appointed Gideon J.
Pillow and Samuel R. Anderson as major generals and Felix K.
Zolicoffer as brigadier general. Five infantry and one cavalry
regiment were placed into Confederate service. The volunteer
tradition clearly was upheld once again.

34 Tennessee County History Series

Company L of the First Tennessee Cavalry Regiment was
first organized as a six-month company in Claiborne County and
then was ordered into permanent service by Lieutenant Ceneral
James Longstreet in March of 1864. Another county unit, Com-
pany F of the same regiment, was organized in the county and
was commanded by R. Frank Fulkerson.

No major military operations took place in Claiborne Coun-
ty, but there was almost continuous activity by quartermaster
units to supply fighting forces. Company-size engagements did
occur in the Tazewell area irregularly throughout the conflict
and engagements between regiment forces took place in the
Cumberland Cap area. Cumberland Cap had great strategic
importance and, for that reason, the defending force cleared the
approaches to the Pinnacle and adjoining crests early in the war
so as to afford the defenders free fields of fire. Confederate
troops also had a cannon, dubbed Long Tom, which could
put down destructive fire on targets as far away as Patterson's
Crossroads.

The Confederates moved company units through and
around Claiborne County, usually to counter the thrusts of
Federal troops to insure control of Cumberland Cap. On June
30, 1862, a company from Ashby's Ceorgia Regiment defeated a
Federal force at Lead Mine Bend on Powell River. Then on
August 17 at Cumberland Ford, the Confederates attacked a
Federal unit which lost 60 men. The same Confederates on
August 29 killed six men, wounded a like number, and took 19
prisoners at Roger's Cap. Apparently, the Confederates under
the command of Major Ceneral John P. McCown at Cumber-
land Cap felt secure enough to send Ceneral Kirby Smith's
legion together with units under Colonel Ashby and Major
Slaughter to Flat Lick, Kentucky.

Fluidity characterized the battle situation of the antagonists
in many instances from the start to the end of hostilities. For
example, Captain E. D. Baxter's Tennessee Light Artillery Com-
pany was at Shelby ville in December of 1862 but moved to
Cumberland Gap in January-February of 1863, to Bean's Sta-
tion in April, to Cumberland Gap in May, and to Knoxville on
June 26, 1863.

CLAIBORNE 35

The lack of enough or the right kind of weapons sometimes
determined the function or movement of Confederate troops.
For example, Captain William H. Burroughs Tennessee Light
Artillery Company was mustered in Camp Sneed at Knoxille on
August 19, 1861, but due to the lack of artillery it was trans-
formed to an infantry company for a time. Weapons arrived in
October of 1861, and the company was ordered to Cumberland
Gap to take charge of the artillery at that post. This Company
was extremely active, fighting heavy engagements on March 22,
and April 9, 1862. It remained at Cumberland Gap until June
18, 1862, when it moved to Cedar Fork, Tennessee. As a part of
Taylor's Brigade, it was under fire in Tazewell without having an
assigned battle mission. When General Kirby Smith invaded
Kentucky, this company moved back to Cumberland Gap to
withstand a siege.

Again, this light artillery company illustrated the mobility of
smaller units in the Claiborne County area. In October, its sta-
tion was Sevier, but in December of 1 862 it was again at Cumber-
land Gap, where it remained until April of 1863 when it was
transferred to Brigadier General A. E.Jackson's Brigade under
General Zolicoffer's command. It then moved to Bluff City,
but remained with Zollicoffer until September of 1863.
Burrough's Company, one of the first companies organized in
East Tennessee, fought almost four years in East Tennessee and
served throughout the war under the same captain.

As the Federal noose tightened around the Confederacy in
other sections, it became impossible to hold Cumberland Gap.
As its commander, Brigadier General Frazier, fought the last
days of the war in this bastion, he had under his command,
besides infantry units, Karn's Battery armed with two 12-pound
and two six-pound guns commanded by Lieutenant O'Conner.
General Frazier surrendered his forces at Cumberland Gap to
General Burnside on September 9, 1863.

Before the final confrontation at the Gap, the activities of
other units in the county contributed to that event. Early in 1 862,
Companies A, B, C, D, and E of the First Tennessee Infantry
Regiment left their Knoxville station and went to Cumberland
Gap to serve under Major General Kirby E. Smith. On August 6,

36 Tennessee County History Series

1862, units of the 59th Tennessee Infantry Regiment defeated
Federal troops under Colonel John F. DeCoursy near Tazewell.
Records of the Tazewell Baptist Church reported weekly visits
by Federal troops that forced the church to close for months.

From the Tazewell engagement this unit of the 59th went to
aid in the defense of Cumberland Gap after which they went to
Kentucky with General Braxton Bragg's army. It is likely that the
Tazewell battle with Colonel DeCoursey's troops resulted in the
great Tazewell fire of 1 862. It was watched with dismay by Hugh
Graham, whose "Castle Rock" home escaped destruction but
afforded a ringside seat for the battle. A friend visiting there
looked from a window and thought the world, as he knew it,
was lost.

The 17th Tennessee Infantry Regiment entered Confeder-
ate service at Big Creek, Campbell County, and in August of
1861 came under the command of Zollicoffer at Cumberland
Gap, where it remained until February of 1862. This regiment
fought an engagement at Rock Castle, Kentucky, on October 2 1 ,
1862, and at Fishing Creek, Kentucky, on November 17 and 19.
The 17th and 19th Regiments were at Jacksboro; the 19th went
to Wild Cat, Kentucky, but not to battle. It fought a heavy
engagement at Fishing Creek on January 17 where Zollicoffer
was killed and Colonel Camrin took command. Legend tells that
by accident some of Zollicoffer's own men met him in heavy
brush and accidentally killed him.

The physical devastation of Claiborne County that resulted
from the Civil War was considerably less that what occurred in
other parts of the South where large forces engaged in bloody
combat. Throughout large portions of the South, society was in
almost complete chaos, so a first requisite was maintenance of
order. In such instances, this was insured to some degree by the
presence of Federal troops.

Tennessee had seceded long after other border states, and
furthermore a large segment of its population had remained
loyal to the Union. These circumstances led to the decision by
the Republican party to nominate Andrew Johnson of Green-
ville as its candidate for the vice-presidency. The political pur-
pose of this ploy was not only to reward those who had remained

CLAIBORNE

37

Cumberland Gap in 1862, with the mountainsides cleared for battle.

Photograph courtesy of the National Park Service.

loyal to the Union but to remove from the Republican Party the
radicalism which clung to the Free Soilers. Andrew Johnson had
served as governor of Tennessee, at least in those parts under
the control of Federal troops. It was only natural and in keeping
with Johnson's views on the constitution that he took rapid steps
toward the restoration of Tennessee to the Union.

In 1864 Lincoln perceived that a presidential election must,
at all costs, be held even in the midst of war. Some, like Horace
Greeley, had urged negotiation and of course there were those
who were bitterly critical of President Lincoln. The Democratic
Party was divided badly and the majority of its members prob-
ably voted for the National Union Party, so designated for the
election, because of Johnson's appeal as a life-long Democrat.
However, General George B. McClellan had a magic appeal
because of his war record and received 3,600,000 popular and
21 electoral votes as compared with Lincoln's 4,000,000 popular
votes and 212 electoral votes.

Confederate soldiers came back to Claiborne County after

38 Tennessee County History Series

their commands surrendered as did those who had served in the
Union Army. The people of the county were ready to work as
thev had before the war. In the light of the prevalence of feuding
as a method of settling immediate disputes in the Appalachian
region, it is remarkable that Union and Confederate veterans
for the most part established peaceable relations with each other.
These veterans often met together at the N. L. Holt General
Merchandise Store in Lonesome Valley where the closest
approach to physical combat occurred in very serious horseshoe
pitching contests. Among the returned veterans in Lonesome
Valley were Jerrield D. and James D. Mayes.

Slave labor had been only a small part of the county's labor
force; most slaves had, in fact, been household servants. Legend
has it that when owners freed their slaves prior to the war, the
new freedman were permitted to live on the end of the farms
which covered the Hoop Creek Community, a prosperous farm-
ing community where a small population of blacks still lives. All
other black citizens in 1865, as well as now, resided in the two
Tazewells. The total population of blacks in the county has
remained small — a total of 314 in 1965.

The long-range effects of the Civil War on Claiborne County
are difficult to gauge except for the overwhelming industrial
development that followed throughout the Northeast, the Mid-
West and the West. In fact, the war unleashed dreams of railroad
builders, manufacturers, and bankers. Claiborne, like other East
Tennessee counties, was left in a backwash. Consequently, the
population growth was lessened by the drainage of people to the
West and the new lands. However, the county's population con-
tinued to increase slowly due to the high birth rate, and this
trend continued until World Wars I and II witnessed a decline.

With only a slight bow to the National Union Party beneath
whose banner Lincoln, the railsplitter, and Johnson, the tailor,
won the election of 1865, the new party dropped the war win-
ning name and returned to the name of the Republican party. It
remained dedicated to protection against foreign imports, west-
ward expansion, assistance to railroads, and a system of national
banks geared to the needs of an expanding economy. In

CLAIBORNE 39

Claiborne County, the most effective party appeal was to the
aura of Abraham Lincoln who was assassinated by actor John
Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater on Good Friday of 1 865. This act
rendered Lincoln a martyr of the causes for which he labored so
effectively, especially for the Union and, at long last, for free-
dom to the slaves.

There ensued a period when allied and divergent trends
took form based partly on a recognition of Lincoln's heartfelt
aims including the restoration of the Union. There was, how-
ever, a vindictive view held by radical Republicans that the
rebellion should be crushed forever by bringing to trial the chief
leaders of the Confederacy. Before they could have full con-
frontation with Lincoln, he was assassinated, and Johnson be-
came president. Lincoln's natural sympathy for those who had
borne the shock of battle and remained loyal to the Union had
been expressed to a military aide, General Oliver Otis Howard,
when he said that those in East Tennessee, especially those in the
Cumberland Gap area, should be rewarded by receiving a school
for the mountain people. This view was kept alive and eventually
led to the establishment of Lincoln Memorial University.

Annanias Honey cutt versus the State of Tennessee

In the period of unrest following the war, assaults against
people or property were not uncommon in Claiborne County. It
was characteristic of the hill people to defend themselves against
real or fancied wrongs and to show considerable reluctance in
calling upon others for protection. Among the many assault and
battery cases presented to the county court was one which
changed from common assault to murder and which was to have
far-reaching effects because it ended in a public execution. In a
1965 article in the Tennessee Conservationist Earl Shaub noted that
the pressures to abolish capital punishment had been influenced
by the "horrible public executions of the past." He cited as the
most outstanding public hanging in Tennessee the execution of
Annanias Honeycutt in Claiborne County in 1875.

The hanging was witnessed by 5000 to 6000 people, many
arriving in family wagons supplied for a picnic. According to

40 Tennessee County History Series

legend, Frank James came from Missouri to visit friends and to
see the hanging which took place in "Academy Hollow" near the
Kentucky Road. Widespread disapproval followed the event
because of its public nature and the fact that Honeycutt pro-
tested his innocence to the last.

Considerable excitement and some confusion surround-
ed the incident and confession of Honeycutt to the killing of
Thomas Ausmus. Ausmus and Honeycutt were both residents
of Powell Valley. Honeycutt was arrested about a week after the
murder in a location about 100 miles from Powell Valley. When
told that he was being arrested for the murder of Ausmus, he
stated that his actions had been in self-defense following a dis-
pute with Ausmus over a hog. He stated that he had hit Ausmus
with a rock three times but did not kill him and that he had left
Ausmus with another man named Greenlee. During the trip
back to Claiborne County, Honeycutt repeated this story with
accompanying details. During the initial hearing, it was proved
that Greenlee had not been with the two men. While being
questioned at the scene of the murder, Honeycutt was reported
to have confessed planning to kill Ausmus, but others present
during this time later testified that they did not hear Honeycutt
make this confession. On the way back to Tazewell from Powell
Valley, Honeycutt volunteered the information that he had
killed Ausmus for his money.

Honeycutt sought a change of venue on the grounds of
undue excitement at the time of the incident, but the court ruled
that there was no evidence of such excitement at the time of the
trial and therefore a change was not justified. Honeycutt also
requested the court to set aside confessions which he had made
on the grounds that they were made out of fear and in order to
gain clemency, but the court held that such statements were
admissable as evidence. Other evidence included the nature of
the wounds on Ausmus's head which could have been made by
rocks and the fact that bloody rocks were found on the ground
near the body. Although the ground was wet and soft, there
was nothing indicating a scuffle. Ausmus and Honeycutt were
tracked from the road to the hollow where the killing occurred,

CLAIBORNE 41

and Honeycutt fled from the area the same evening. In spite of
Honeycutt's appeals, the guilty verdict was upheld, and the court
ordered the sentence carried out.

Many of the spectators grew impatient for the hanging as
they waited around noontime in "Academy Hollow," site of the
Posey spring. Fifty guards surrounded the wagon when it
appeared with the doomed man on his coffin accompanied by
two preachers. The wagon stopped immediately under the
noose and the proceedings were opened by the Reverend Billy
Crutchfield with Bible reading and a hymn, followed by prayer
and an hour long sermon with vivid descriptions of heaven and
hell. Then the Reverend Greer took over and exhorted the
crowd until after 2:00 p.m.

The prisoner was then asked to speak. Standing beside his
coffin, he invited the crowd to meet him in heaven. Greer gave
him a white handkerchief and requested him, if he were inno-
cent, to shift it from hand to hand during his dying moments.
Honeycutt then shook hands with the preachers and told the
sheriff that he was ready. The sheriff placed a black cap over the
prisoner's head and face and adjusted the noose. Then the
wagon moved forward leaving the prisoner struggling in the air
but shifting the handkerchief from hand to hand. At about 2:30
p.m. the body was cut down, and Honeycutt's family took it home
for burial. Since that day in 1875, no person has suffered capital
punishment in Claiborne County.

Education

Claiborne County began the first century of its existence with
the benefit of a large proportion of educated citizens whose
schooling and experience had been gained in the tidewater
regions of the original thirteen colonies or in continental or
British schools. Educated gentlemen of the day and time usually
had the advantage of classical backgrounds, including Latin and
Greek, and were grounded firmly in mathematics. Formal
education gained in American schools usually was the result of
tutelage in church-connected academies and colleges. Most of
these institutions had been established primarily to educate

42 Tennessee County History Series

prospective ministers or secondly to educate young people to the
extent that they could understand and act favorably on religious
instruction. The reading of early deeds, wills, and court records
indicate that the level of education was higher in 1801, when
Claiborne County first gained its corporate existence, than in
1860 when the nation was on the edge of the Civil War. More
citizens signed their names with an x in 1850, for example, than
in 1801. Personnel of the first courts were appointed by the
governor, and it was only natural that the more literate members
of his acquaintance would be selected. There usually were polit-
ical and economic connections as well.

Throughout the county's first 50 years of existence tax-
supported schools rarely existed, public consensus being in
favor of placing the responsibility on parents alone for the
education of their children. However, there were schoolmasters
wandering through the backcountry who made themselves
available for modest tuition charges. In more affluent communi-
ties of the seaboard or in the plantation south, after the rise of
cotton, many wealthy planters sent their sons to theological or
military schools while their daughters learned the requirements
of polite society in female institutions. These areas, however,
were quite unlike the hill country of the Appalachian South.
Quite clearly the effects of the old Tazewell College, created by
private donations of such high-minded men as William Graham
in the 1830s, helped to maintain some learning in Claiborne
County.

Lincoln Memorial University

It truthfully may be said that Lincoln Memorial University
had its beginning in the autumn of 1863 during discussions
between General Howard and President Lincoln. With his hand
placed upon Howard's shoulder, Lincoln made the following
statement:

Howard, if you come out of all this horror and misery alive,
and I hope that you may, I want you to do something for these
people who have been shut out from all the world all these
years. If I live, I will do all I can to aid you and between us we

CLAIBORNE 43

may do them the justice they deserve. Please remember, and if
God is good to us we may he able to speak of it later!

Howard remembered and in due time the desire of the Great
Emancipator reached its fruition.

When the Civil War closed, the men returning to this region
found their families and their homes suffering from the ravages
of war. They found themselves little better off than had been the
early settlers during the time of Daniel Boone and John Sevier.
People naturally thought of food, clothing, and shelter before
education; so it was not surprising that for several years little
provision was made for schools. Many children of the 1870s
grew up without the benefit of schooling; some never learning to
read or to write even their names.

Within this mountain region large enough for a small empire
was a territory untouched by railroads until the late 1880s or
early 1890s. Almost the only locomotion was by foot or horse-
back. The surface of the country was a succession of ridges and
valleys, and often the people in one valley knew little about those
on the opposite side of the ridge. There was, in fact, scarcely any
land suitable for cultivation except south of the Cumberland
Mountains, and the coal and timber interests had not been
developed yet. But here in this vast region were the people
whose hardy men had been among the first to answer their
country's call.

Churches from the commercial and manufacturing sections
of the North and East saw the opportunity for noble service. The
Congregational Church, under the management of the Amer-
ican Missionary Association, and its leaders preached the Gospel
and organized elementary schools throughout the rural areas
and high schools in the small towns. The success of these workers
cannot be measured accurately, but certainly their tireless
efforts had much to do toward training boys and girls to become
useful citizens and leaders of their own people.

About 1877, the American Missionary Association sent the
Reverend A. A. Myers from Wisconsin, a Congregational minis-
ter, to further the church's work. Myers was the right man for
the task; since he had the physical strength necessary to adjust to
the pioneer life of the region, a thorough education, and a

44 Tennessee County History Series

natural gift of oratory that won him many loyal friends and
followers. He entered into his work wholeheartedly and spent 30
years of his life serving the people he loved and respected. He
went from house to house, sharing the hospitality of the moun-
tain people, sitting by their firesides and talking with them of the
most intimate experiences of their lives. In this manner, he
learned firsthand their needs and discovered their aspirations.
He held prayer meetings and preached the Gospel wherever
people assembled, and wherever he could, he organized
elementary schools. Beginning first in the vicinity of Berea,
Kentucky, he worked his way east and south, and for awhile
made his headquarters at Williamsburg, Kentucky.

In 1888, Myers and his wife first came to Cumberland Gap,
where at a Wednesday evening prayer meeting he introduced
himself to the leader, saying that he had come to see if there was
a chance to open a school there. As a result, he opened an
elementary school in the village, where his wife taught while he
made his rounds as a minister.

It was about this time that the L & N Railroad was put
through to Shawanee, Tennessee, and afterwards to Norton,
Virginia, and the road to Knoxville also was opened. These
developments brought many changes and generated many
ambitious projects. The coal mines and their interests developed
rapidly. All things seemed to point to Middlesboro's becoming
a manufacturing city, as well as the center of the coal indus-
try. Cumberland Gap seemed destined to become a thriving
town with Harrogate as a residential suburb for Middlesboro
businessmen.

Promoters were so confident that the capitalists spent some
$2 million to make Harrogate into a great health and pleasure
resort. The extravagant Four Seasons Hotel was said by its
promoters to be the largest hotel in the United States at that
time. Built at a cost of $75,000, it was four stories high with a
frontage of 700 feet, a lobby of 75 square feet, and a dining room
50 by 160 feet. A railroad to be used for private cars was built
from Arthur to where the Lincoln University now stands. Not
content to stop there, the promoters built the Cumberland Gap

CLAIBORNE 45

Hotel and another hotel, Harrogate Inn, where the Grace
Nettleton home once stood. The latter resort opened in 1892,
but was doomed for failure within a year. After being sold to a
contractor for $25,000, the beautiful Four Seasons Hotel was
dismantled and moved away to Chicago piece by piece. The
other buildings fell into disuse and the 600-acre farm was rented
out.

One man's loss was another's gain and the Reverend Myers
saw the possibility of using these buildings for schools. He
purchased the hotel at Cumberland Gap and turned it into
Harrow Hall High School. The elementary schools already set
up served as feeders for this school, but Myers sought a place
where these students could receive a college education. One
building left on the grounds of the Four Seasons Hotel, the
Sanatorium, was used by Myers to start operations for college
studies. The school would expand as it was able, and the large
farm would furnish work for the boys. He proceeded to ascer-
tain the market value of the property, and took an option on it.
Here should be a college within the reach of every earnest youth
of the area.

In his autobiography, General Howard wrote of being called
to Cumberland Gap for a lecture in 1895. According to his
account, the Honorable Darwin R. James of New York, the
Reverend Fred B. Avery of Ohio, and Howard, with some
others, sat one evening on the Harrow School porch discussing
what should be done with the school since it was in financial
distress. The discussion probably brought to mind the request
Lincoln had made in 1863, whereupon Howard remarked:
"Friends, if you will make this school a larger enterprise I will
take hold and do what I can."

On February 12, 1897, Myers met with M. F. Overton, C. F.
Eager, A. B. Kesterson, and Dr. Macaulay Arthur to draft a
charter and to apply for incorporation for an institution to
be called, at General Howard's suggestion, Lincoln Memorial
University, a living memorial to Abraham Lincoln.

This venture of faith supported by earnest prayer, without a
dollar in its treasury, backed by no church, fraternity brother-

"*" Tennessee County History Series

hood, or class was formed into a plan sufficient to meet the needs
of a collective vision. The following is an excerpt from this
charter:

To establish and maintain, under the name aforesaid, at or
near the town of Cumberland Gap, in the county of Claiborne,
State of Tennessee, United States of America, an educational
institution comprising various departments or branches bear-
ing names or other designations to be chosen by said corpora-
tions, and some of said departments or branches being, at the
discretion of said corporation, located elsewhere than at or
near said town of Cumberland Gap.

Said institution shall be founded and maintained by the cor-
poration of a grateful people as a monument or memorial to
Abraham Lincoln . . . and as an expression of renewed good
will, and fraternal feeling between the people of sections of this
country once opposed to each other in Civil War, and said
institution shall promote research, investigation, and experi-
ment for the extension and application of knowledge and shall
impart instruction in the various branches of education, sci-
ence, art, and industry. . . .

After receiving the charter from Nashville, and with the
certificate of incorporation, the signers proceeded without delay
to organize as a board of directors and elected Colonel R. F.
Patterson, a Confederate veteran, as the sixth member of the
board. They secured a deed to the Harrogate property and
began preparing the school. Cyrus Kehr of Illinois was chosen as
president for three years during which time he prepared the
property. In 1900, Dr. John Hale Larry of Providence, Rhode
Island, was chosen as acting president and proceeded to organ-
ize the school in the old sanatorium, then named Grant-Lee
Hall, suggesting that in this place the North and South united. In
this building, 300 feet long, and for part of its length, four stories
high, were housed the teachers, students, and all classrooms.
The furnishings and equipment were little more than that of an
immigrant family. An entire university under a blue and gray
flag in one building; but zeal and enthusiasm made up for what
was lacking in physical equipment. In the meanwhile, the school

CLAIBORNE

47

48 Tennessee County History Series

at Harrow was operated as a "Preparatory School to Lincoln
Memorial University," as printed in its commencement
program.

General Howard, in the beginning a member of the board of
directors, succeeded Dr. Gray of Chicago, who was the first
president of the board, as managing director. In 1907, Howard
wrote in his autobiography of this greater responsibility:

I reluctantly consented, but began to work with all the strength
I could muster. I have had associated with me some noble men,
and the institution has been steadily progressing until more
than 500 youth of the mountains are receiving excellent and
systematic training. The organizing of the institution, the rais-
ing of funds for its plant, the establishment of an endowment,
and keeping up the running expenses have been for eleven
years a decided labor of love. The continued success of this
enterprise as a last work of an active life I greatly desire and
earnestly pray for.

General Howard was indeed a man of great ability and
proved to be the life of the institution and was a life-long friend
of education. During the many years he served as commissioner
of the Freedmen's Bureau, he had established or helped
to establish 70 schools for both whites and blacks — Howard
University was one of the first.

Howard talked, lectured, and wrote, appealing to those peo-
ple who were able to contribute to this work. He appealed to
their respect for President Lincoln to help build a living me-
morial perpetually shaping young lives. He brought into the
board a number of influential and wealthy men, among whom
were E. O. Achorn of Boston, Dr. R. James of New York, B. B.
Herbert of Chicago, the Reverend F. B. Avery of Ohio, Samuel
P. Avery of Connecticut, and A. L. Seligman of New York. On
February 11, 1 90 1 , he held a celebration of Lincoln's birthday at
Carnegie Hall in New York City, that was attended by a large
number of the country's leaders of business, politics, and so-
ciety. It was at this meeting that he set forth the plans and pur-
poses of the university. This work resulted in a great variety
of contributions from many sources. The aggregate from these
sources was not large in today's terms, but it enabled the man-

CLAIBORNE

49

f 1 f 1 '

'S",f<'l--f t'

• * SJI

i f t t £-f

ftl

^■'" - *B H^ffli Ji II JH

IP k lk% Ik *

j/MT . (* <Sl»^. ...

i l^HH

# -

Members of Philomathean Literary Society at Lincoln Memorial Uni-
versity about 1917.

agement to meet current expenses and to build slowly. Thus,
General Howard went for some 12 years seeking to tap every
available source of funds for the school. During these years, he
paid for the original plant, built Avery Hall, purchased the old
Arthur home to be used for the conservatory of music, built
the Carnegie library, erected six cottages, and left the institu-
tion clear of debt.

For many years LMU operated without accreditment by the
Southern Association of College and Secondary Schools, the
regional accrediting association, but it did have the approval of
the Tennesee Department of Education, which sufficed for
those graduates who taught in Tennessee schools or in those
states which held reciprocal arrangments with Tennessee.
Graduates who were appointed to teaching positions in other
states had to meet the qualifications of those states. However,
accreditment in 1935 removed that problem. During the 1920s,
LMU acquired the services of a group of young academic enthu-
siasts to the enormous benefit of such aspiring writers as Jesse
Stuart and James Still. The high literary standards of Dean Boyd
A. Wise were easily confirmed.

50 Tennessee County History Series

Iona Holt Goin, county teacher, about
1907; wife of John L. Goin and mother
of Dorothy, another long-time county
teacher.

In the 1960s and early 1970s, LMU acquired several new
buildings and renovated older ones; East and West Dormitories,
a student center, and the Lincoln Museum were completed. An
aggressive new president, Dr. Frank Welch, undertook to bring
the university closer to the people it served by widening the
courses of study. By 1978, the total enrollment had grown to
1067 which included non-credit and part-time students. In addi-
tion to liberal arts courses LMU now offers non-traditional
courses which lead to the baccalaureate degree.

Educational Achievements and Achievers

A prime mover in the creation of a tax-supported high
school, Attorney General P. G. Fulkerson, combined William
Graham's insight into public needs with a standing in the county
which enabled him and others to bring into existence the

CLAIBORNE 51

Claiborne County High School in 1910. Fulkerson gave the land
on which it was built, watched over it, and inspired faculty and
students with an occasional address. An early graduate was Lon
Francisco who returned to teach there following completion of a
baccalaureate at Carson-Newman College. For some years, most
of the teachers came from the University of Tennessee.

Within a short period of time, the educational harvest from
the new high school was revealed by the selection of young
graduates to positions of leadership. An early illustration was the
selection of Elmer Baldwin and Luther Mayes to help hold
a Republican primary election at the Lonesome Valley Steel
Trestle voting precinct on August 1, 1918. Both men were also
graduates of Lonesome Valley Elementary School. At the
January of 1919 session of the quarterly court, James W.
Baldwin, who went to Lonesome Valley School and the county
high school and college, was elected county school superinten-
dent. Baldwin later received a doctorate degree and became,
until his retirement, a professor of education at the University of
Texas.

In January of 1929, a graduate of Lincoln Memorial
University, Ethel Hamilton of Shawanee, was selected by the
quarterly court to head the county schools. She served for a
number of years distinguishing herself by attempts to raise the
standards of academic excellence and by ridding the school
system of the patronage influence which beset it.

As the present century progressed, there were others from
the county schools who rose to eminence and richly contributed
to the history of this area. Walter E. Baldwin from the Lonesome
Valley school graduated from the county high school, received a
baccalaureate degree, served in the armed forces in World War
I, and became superintendent of schools for a short time. Later,
he turned to civil service for a notable career, climaxed by service
in California. Perry E. DeBusk also became the superintendent
for some years. Later, he went into the insurance business, and
still later, with the able assistance of his wife, Ethel Mary, he
established a lucrative antique business in Morristown and in
Galtinburg. DeBusk recalled the rich, vital, and sometimes col-
orful instruction in English literature he had received from

52 Tennessee County History Series

Helen E. Galbreath, one of the really great teachers at Claiborne
County High School. Another graduate of the high school,
Jefferson Davis Earl, was and is held in esteem by all who have
listened to him speak on any one of the many topics which
fascinated him. Earl served heroically in World War I and has
recorded in his memoirs events in the pivotal battle of the
Hindenburg Line. He now lives in Knoxville with his wife and
three daughters.

Conversation among students going to and from high school
was filled with enthusiasm which flowed from what was learned
in the classrooms. Love of learning dominated the lives of stu-
dents, especially a love of English and American classics in lit-
erature which was acquired from talented Helen Galbreath,
a graduate of the University of Tennessee. Among the
many admirers of Galbreath's teaching was Thomas Fugate,
now of Ewing, Virginia. Fugate's life was influenced deeply
by Galbreath. He attended the University of Tennessee, then
Lincoln Memorial University, and became a very successful
banker at Ewing, a widely known and respected farmer, and
finally a member of the U.S. Congress from his legislative district
in southwestern Virginia. Fugate died September 22, 1980.

Another student who profited enormously from the excel-
lent staff of high school teachers was Sam Atkin of Lone Moun-
tain. Atkin's chief field of learning was agriculture, in which he
took a degree from the University of Tennessee and a doctorate
from Cornell University. His wife was the former Berniece
Chumley, daughter of John Chumley of the Barren Creek
neighborhood. Others in his class were John Greer who became
a dentist and practiced in Tazewell; Milt Brooks who along with
his brother Hilt also became a dentist in Middlesboro; Nannie
Mae Carr of Tazewell; Lois and Charlotte Kivette, the former
being an ardent student of literature and a writer and Charlotte
being especially strong in vocal music; Bryan Catherine Percival
of New Tazewell who took a bachelor of arts degree from LMU
and a masters from Ohio State University; and Loalles Lynch
who married John DeBusk, a successful farmer and horseman.

The curriculum at the Claiborne County, Powell Valley, and
Forge Ridge high schools was mainly college preparatory. The

CLAIBORNE

53

54 Tennessee County History Series

acknowledged reason for domination by liberal arts subjects was
that the program was to prepare graduates for entrance to a
college or university. The thrust for widening the curriculum
came from a great increase in student enrollment and the long
neglected laws relative to attendance, which began to be en-
forced during the 1920s by truant officers. The trend toward
consolidation of school districts, which depended on free trans-
portation of students from their homes to the consolidated
school, also produced wide variations. The argument for con-
solidation was persuasive and eventually successful to the point
that in 1978 there were no single school districts. The precon-
solidation group emphasized that the teacher in a one-room
school taught everything from first grade through eighth with a
required "expertness" in all subjects. Literally interpreted, this
was impossible inasmuch as most teachers at that time had pro-
gressed, academically speaking, only a little pace beyond their
students. Moreover, a one-room school was noisy because each
student was located only paces away from the class being taught
at that particular hour. In spite of these drawbacks, however,
many educational miracles were accomplished. Furthermore, as
consolidation proceeded, the enrollment also increased beyond
the expected proportion and teachers still found themselves
overloaded.

All these developments took place at different periods and
were influenced by the development of national educational
programs. The writings of John Dewey exercised potent in-
fluences on the making of curricula at all levels from the first
grade through college. Previously, the emphasis had been on the
belief that education consisted primarily in handing down to the
present generation knowledge of the past, in every discipline
such as language, mathematics, history, and science so that the
mind of the citizen-to-be would be able to understand the world
in which he lived. Then, John Dewey proposed that learning
consisted in doing those things which most interested the
learner. The way was thus opened to experimentation of all
sorts; in a sense, formal education flew off in all directions.
Vocational education flourished, while liberal education, includ-
ing the former college preparation programs, suffered and only
now is recovering.

CLAIBORNE 55

Graduates of Claiborne County high schools had available to
them a considerable number of church-related colleges nearby
such as Tusculum, Hiwassee, Carson-Newman, and Maryville.
Lincoln Memorial University, non-denominational, was next
door and offered higher education at costs competitive with
tax-supported institutions of higher education. Until recently, it
also allowed students to work and pay much of the costs of their
own education. Students seeking further education benefited
from the large number of graduate programs at the University
of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Roads and Bridges

Being close neighbors of their constituents — the voters of
Claiborne County, members of the county court were always
under pressure to improve roads and bridges. Not until the
middle of the 1890s did the two present railway systems con-
struct roads through the county. Road building was a must and
for the first time in the experience of local citizens,. it was possible
to construct a top which would last a little longer than soil mixed
with the ever present chert. Macadam was the magic word! For
the first time in the history of road building in Claiborne County
there was available a method and materials — limestone rocks —
which could free people from the ubiquitous mud which met
them on every step, except during dry weather when clouds of
dust replaced the mud. Local limestone was crushed into various
sizes ranging from two-inch stones to one-quarter-inch size, then
rolled into the crushed stone and small pebbles, and placed on a
graded and rounded road bed. By bonding together, a fairly
firm top was formed. The Legislature then encouraged all coun-
ties to macadamize their roads to the extent of their ability to sell
road bonds. The ordinary citizen wanted out of the mud, the
road builders wanted contracts, and many politically-minded
road promoters saw a way to make easier money than that to
which they had been accustomed.

When informed by the state that it could issue $75,000 in
road bonds, the court took action by appointing John Ausmus,
P. G. Fulkerson, and F. F. Overton to market them. After an
initial lack of success, the Fulkerson committee sold bonds in

J " Tennessee County History Series

1880 to McDaniel, McCoy, and Company of Chicago at four and
one-half percent interest, which made the county the only one in
the state at that time selling bonds at the low rate. At that time,
the county planned construction of five roads: from Cumber-
land Gap to Tazewell; from its intersection with that road down
Powell Valley to the Campbell County line; from Tazewell to the
Union County line on the Knoxville Road; from Tazewell to
Grainger County on the Old Kentucky Road; and from that
intersection up Sycamore Creek Valley to the county line.

Construction of roads in the county financed by interest
bearing bonds promptly led to misunderstandings, at least, and
probably to dishonesty in the use of public funds. Even the initial
bond issue led to trouble. The court appointed J. L. Buis, R. F.
Carr, and J. P. Kivett as a committee to supervise the pike roads.
This committee reported that it did not have the expertise to
make findings from the reports of the contractors. The court
then authorized the employment of Knoxville civil engineer
W. A. Park to aid the committee with a 14-page report which
covered only part of the construction, even though they were
directed to cover the entire program. Park prepared a devastat-
ing analysis of slip-shod construction and contractor reporting
with many errors. Charges of overpayment and incorrect
charges were- abundant. In the January of 1910 session, as a
result of additional investigation, the court ordered payments to
the contractor.

J. H. S. Morrison of Cumberland Gap became judge of the
court in August of 1910 and immediately tried to restore a
semblance of order and honesty to the county financial records.
Justices at the October of 1910 session were James Barnard,
H. F. Bostic, R. F. Carr, B. M. Fletcher, J. P. Goin, John M. Hurst,
Frank Jennings, J. B. Lambert, J. F. Lynch, J. W. Maddox,J. H.
Neeney, G. S. Nevils, James H. Riley, G. W. Rosenbalm, and B. F.
Schultz. At that session, despite Morrison's best efforts, he was
unable to give a full financial report since the records were
incomplete.

By the June of 1911 session, Morrison reported that he and
the county revenue commissioners had made earnest efforts to
ascertain the outstanding indebtedness of the county. The dif-

CLAIBORNE 57

ficulty was compounded because some warrants, when paid,
were not cancelled on the warrant register. Therefore, it was
impossible to make an exact determination of the county debt;
however, he was certain the county owed less than $16,546.79,
excluding highway warrants, Cumberland Mountain pike war-
rants, and school warrants. The total indebtedness was summa-
rized as follows: county proper, $16,546.79; highway, $9,250;
Cumberland Mountain pike warrants, $17,500; and schools,
$13,799.80; for a total of $41,346.59. Judge Morrison also
found that tax assessments were incorrect and that the previous
year in many parts of the county, the assessor had not been seen.
Each year the court was "overwhelmed" by reports of "wrong
assessments" and delinquent polls, and he was certain that 100
square miles of land had not been taxed at all.

Due to pressure from the state and the conscientious and
expert work of such officials as Judges Hughes, Morrison, and
others, the county instituted an improved method of managing
its financial resources. Primarily, this improvement was the
establishment of specific funds in the trustee's office to which
incoming revenue was paid and from which it could be paid
by specific authorization from the court, through verification
by the judge.

Until Claiborne County finally adopted a budget system for
holding and disbursing its revenues, there was a continuing
problem of holding each trustee to a faithful and honest
accounting for money entrusted to his care. Such a problem
arose in 1873 when the outgoing trustee withheld the book of
settlement from the court and his successor until forced to
relinquish it. In the 1920s much larger sums of money were
entrusted to the trustee, who was bound by higher bonds than
was previously required and still further guaranteed by those
who served as his securities. Even so, one trustee left office
without making a settlement and four and one-half months later
the county judge reminded him of his obligations. Finally, in
October of 1923, the court appointed attorneys William I. Davis
and J. R. Ketron to bring suit in chancery court which resulted in
the matter eventually being compromised.

The first issue of road bonds did not go very far with respect

58 Tennessee County History Series

to the construction of lasting roads, but the results were enough
to excite demands for more roads. The Legislature felt this
pressure which came from all over the state and in April of 1914,
on the eve of World War I, it authorized the counties to issue
more bonds. On April 18, 1913, by a vote of 17-4, the county
court voted to issue $355,000 worth of bonds at interest rates not
to exceed six percent. Those voting for the measure were R. F.
Carr, J. H. Chumley, J. M. Cunningham, A. P. Delozier, John
Edwards, W. F. Fortner, L. T. Jennings, John Keck, Noah
Manning, W. E. Mayes, F. F. Overton, C. H. Parkey, H. H.
Pursifull, S. R. Robertson, J. C. Thomas, W. S. Thomas, and J. S.
Yoakum; voting against the action were William Bolinger,
I. R. Dunn, G. W. Greer, and A. M. Moss. The bonds were to
mature in 30 years beginning July 6, 1914.

Altogether, 710 bonds were to be offered, each in the
amount of $500. Money from these bonds was used to build the
following roads: 14 miles from Lone Mountain via Howard's
Quarter to the Hancock County line, ($45,000); from the
Hancock County line near Buchanan's Ford via Cedar Fork to
Tazewell, 13 miles ($45,000); from Springdale to Tazewell,
three miles ($10,000); from Union County line via Big Valley
Road and Barren Creek and Sandlick to Tazewell, .14 miles
($40,000); from Cumberland Gap to Tazewell, 12 miles
($50,000); from Patterson's Cross Roads to Campbell County
line, 18 miles ($55,000); from Lone Mountain to Walker's Ford
($20,000); from the Powell River bridge to Powell Valley Road
($50,000); from Harrogate via Shawanee to the Virginia line
($5,000); from Springdale via Little Sycamore to Hancock
County line, 12 miles ($30,000). The court met in special session
on May 3, 1915, to make provision to finance a road from
Harrogate to the Virginia line.

Bridges across the two major rivers, Powell and Clinch, were
matters demanding court action. One court had chosen Greasy
Hollow across the Powell River for a bridge to connect the
county seat area with the lower Powell Valley (the old Jacksboro
Road), but the January of 1914 court reconsidered the matter
and ordered that a bridge be built across the Powell River at
Bunch Hollow. By 1914 a bridge had been constructed across

CLAIBORNE

59

Bunch Hollow Bridge across the Powell River, prior to its demolition
for Norris Lake

the Powell River located on the Old Kentucky Road, out of
Cumberland Gap. It was financed promptly through a tax levy
and the issue of interest bearing warrants.

The region around Clairfield at that time, as now, felt neg-
lected. Because of an absolute need, the court, in January of
1915, appropriated $300 to build a bridge across the Clear Fork
River, It is very significant that after funds had been allocated
for some ten roads, a special session of the court was called to
consider the diversion of funds from the Powell Valley Road to
Clairfield via the best route available. The court appointed a
committee to investigate and to report, but that was the end of
the transmontane road for the time being. From that time to the
present, travel from the county seat to Clairfield must cross the
mountain into Middlesboro, then follow a circuitous and some-
times dangerous road across Fonde Mountain into the Clear
Fork Valley, an extra distance of more than 30 miles.

It seemed absurd then, as now, that there was no regularly
used road from the valley into the coal producing portion of
Claiborne County. This need was heightened by the absence of
hospitals; a need which was answered in part by cooperation

60 Tennessee County History Series

between the Claiborne County Community Action Committee
(OEO) and private groups led by Roman Catholic nuns and
Presbyterian-financed doctors and nurses who established a
valuable health clinic.

The Community Action Agency used much time and effort
to convince the state that it should finance an all-weather road
across the mountain through Carr, Wilson, or other gaps. No
road yet has been built, and the need is more acute than ever.
The coal produced in this area, both deep and surface mines, is
carried to market by rail and trucks. Vast quantities of coal
produced at the Tackett Creek mine by the Consolidation Coal
Company is shipped direct by rail to the Georgia Power and
Light Company.

On June 30, 1917, the county judge reported that for the
quarter ending on that date, the county fund stood at $ 1 ,427.58,
the school fund at $9,056.38; thejudgment fund (the fund from
which judgments against the county were paid), $40.50; the
bond interest fund, $15,261.30; the sinking fund, $3,0 15,75; the
road fund (not inclusive of funds for major expenditures such as
the pikes), $1,502.98; bridge fund, $75.47; high school fund,
$761.48; and the pike fund, $60,396.47, of which $50,605 was
for sales from road bonds.

Judge Morrison presided at a special session of the court on
August 27, 1917, to consider what action should be taken to
encourage the routing of the Dixie Highway over the route of
the old Kentucky Road from Cumberland Gap to Tazewell, then
over what is now State Route 33 from Tazewell to New Tazewell,
Sandlick, and Barren Creek to the Union County line. Quick
action was desirable because, it was reported, some other route
might be chosen if there were a delay. The court took affirmative
action and authorized the judge to issue $25,000 in six percent
bonds. A special tax levy was imposed for the years 1918-1922.

Throughout the first decades of this century, the construc-
tion and maintenance of adequate roads continued to trouble
the county citizens and their governing body. Demands support-
ing roads continued during the decade after World War I, and
in September of 1920 the court, with Judge L. G. Payne pre-
siding, approved the issue of $42,500 to keep roads in repair.

CLAIBORNE

61

Courthouse, which burned in 1932

The court approved, by a 16-7 vote, the sale of these bonds to
Caldwell and Company of Nashville. As 1921 began, the court
consisted of T. H. Ball, James Barnard, J. S. Coleman, W. N.
Day, W. S. Jaynes, A. B. Keeny, S. E. Mathis, Marion Mayes,
W. E. Mayes, C. E. Mink, C. H. Minton, G. S. Nevils, W. C.
Parkey, J. D. Riley, C. G. Rogers, G. S. Sharp, W. S. Thomas,
and J. S. Yoakum.

The use of county-owned road machinery was a bone of
contention by persons who attempted to deny its use by the
county or other groups on other roads. In April of 192 1 a special
session of the court was called to consider what should be done to
make the county's pike road machinery available because such
machinery was then being detained by "certain citizens living on
or near Cedar Fork." The court approved a resolution to employ
counsel "and to take such actions as may be required in order to
restore such machinery to the County." The county asserted its
rights to control its own machinery but at the cost of wasted time.

In July of 1921, the court accepted a plan by the Tennessee
State Highway Commission that the county change from maca-
dam specifications to a hand-laid base, or Telford method, con-

62

Tennessee County History Series

Present county courthouse, built in 1933

sisting of rock laid in varying sizes from the base to the top where
small rocks were to be used and followed by a bituminous sur-
face. This method was slow and somewhat more expensive, but
more resistant to wear. With the county's acceptance, the state
and federal governments would be responsible for subsequent
maintenance. This change applied only to the Dixie Highway
section. The county accepted the proposal, and to this date that
section of the highway has stood the stress of heavy traffic.

County Welfare and Human Services

In the poor house concept of earlier years governmental
responsibility for care of the needy was placed in the hands of
the lowest bidder. In some respects, this was better than nothing
at all, but the net effect was reprehensible. The passage of the
Social Security Act in 1935 descended to the county level by a
January of 1937 act of the Legislature. Public assistance in the
form of money and other support became immediately avail-
able, and the first problem to solve was the assembling of a
professional staff. This was not an easy task since few universities

CLAIBORNE 63

had followed the example of the University of Chicago, which
had pioneered in social work under the leadership of Jane
Addams at Hull House.

This movement was represented ably by Vanderbilt Uni-
versity and by Scarrett and Peabody colleges. Even so, there were
not enough trained students, and Claiborne County initially had
to recruit high school graduates. Requirements have gradually
risen so that today new recruits must have 27 hours of behavioral
science.

Jacob Walker, the present director of the Department of
Human Services, listed a number of the current functions of the
department: to work with juvenile courts and law enforcement
officials to protect children from abuse and neglect; to provide a
wide range of services for the blind; to accept on court order
custody of children; to provide foster care; to study and approve
homes for adoption of children; to determine eligibility for
medicaid services; to operate a food stamp program; and to
elevate the losses of the poor and needy by application of proved
techniques.

Hazel Davis, the county welfare officer, and Wilma Beaty
were active in the transition from the almshouse concept to the
present type of public assistance which met initially with some
very vocal resistance from community leaders. The strongest
opposition came from those who objected to assistance to depen-
dent children in homes where no father was evident. Eventually,
Davis and her co-workers were successful in convincing most
critics that the care of such children was governmental responsi-
bility. The entire staff was dominated with the concern for the
less fortunate and with the best techniques to ameliorate the
problems for these people.

Health, throughout the last half of the nineteenth century
and during the first three decades of the present century was
considered generally to be the responsibility of the individual
and the family. Dietary requirements were not adhered to con-
sistently but the consequences were not as disastrous as could be
expected, simply because most people lived close to the soil and
grew most of their own food. The supply was abundant and most

64 Tennessee County History Series

tables were loaded beyond normal capacities. Most people pro-
duced what they ate and obesity was not the problem it has come
to be at the present.

Consequently, contagious diseases, such as smallpox, consti-
tuted the greatest challenge to the health and even survival of
people in Claiborne County. Immunization had not yet come to
be practiced generally with the result that outbreaks came sud-
denly and with devastating effects. Almost every session of the
county court in the close of last century and in the beginning of
this century undertook to stop the plague's spread or to diminish
its effects. One of the most effective presiding offices of the court
in the history of the county was Judge J. H. Hughes, who sought
to maintain fiscal responsibility and yet effectively to meet the
problems of the hour. The court which met on January 2, 1905,
was under Judge Hughes and was composed of W. E. Buis, R. F.
Carr, B. M. Fletcher, H. H. Friar, E.J. Gibson, J. P. Goin, John
M. Hurst, John Keck, J. B. Lambert, Millard Moyers, P. H.
Poore, W. B. Rogers, B. F. Schultz, and I.J. Sharp. At this court
money was appropriated to pay White Lyons Company for
vaccine points and to repay Yellow Creek Coal Company for
setting up and maintaining smallpox "camps" where the victims
were isolated and usually guarded to maintain security.

When this court assembled in July of 1905, the smallpox
epidemic had worsened. Other court members present at this
term were W. H. Jones, J. C. Rogers, and D. C. Swab. Court
action resulted in more vaccine points being bought; Dr. F. L.
Lynch being paid for expenses at the Mingo smallpox camp; and
Nicholson Coal Company being paid for taking care of smallpox
patients for 14 days. A claim from the Yellow Creek Coal Com-
pany for expenses involved in smallpox care was referred to the
judge. In the January of 1906 session, the court allowed A. J.
Greer $36 for guarding a smallpox camp for a period of 1 8 days;
Lewis Lambert was awarded $48 for guarding smallpox victims;
and M. V. Widner was paid $44 for similar duty.

The county and individual communities took other precau-
tions to stop the spread of smallpox, such as the establishment of
"pest houses," and the postponement of revivals, church gather-
ings, and other public meetings. Gradually, through these and

CLAIBORNE 65

other measures smallpox was brought under control. By the
1920s, Claiborne County was practically free of the disease.

Childhood diseases, such as measles and whooping cough,
were also problems. Scarlet fever sometimes struck with deadly
effect. Typhoid, a deadly menace, usually resulted from con-
taminated water supplies and outbreaks took place in Tazewell
and in Harrogate. Concerted action by the health officer and
those who operated water supplies brought this disease under
control.

The Claiborne County Hospital

Until 1959, Claiborne County lacked a properly licensed
hospital although in previous years a small facility operated
adequately within its limitations at New Tazewell. In recognition
of the great need for such a health facility, the county court in a
July of 1952 special session passed a resolution which in effect
was an application for the use of federal funds to construct a
hospital. The court applied for $650,000 from the Hill-Burton
Act and pledged itself to pay 24 percent of the total amount
required, with the federal and state governments paying the
remainder. The resolution was approved by the entire court.

By 1958, the county was advised that funds soon would be
available and that a hospital board should be appointed. The
board was to be composed of the county judge as an ex-officio
member, a member from the county court, a banker, a church
representative, a farmer, a businessman, and a member from
another occupation or profession. Its members were charged
with the administration and management of the hospital in
accordance with good management policies, with establishment
of rates, and with the hiring and firing of employees.

James D. Estep, Jr., was county judge when the hospital was
built; the building committee was composed of Will A. Fugate,
chairman; G. B. Hodges, Hugh McNeeley, Dr. George L. Rea,
and William D. Hurst, secretary. Lindsay, Maples, and E. R.
Clayton were the architects who designed the building which was
constructed by Anderson and Watson.

The first wing which contained 40 beds was constructed in
1959; two other wings and a nursing home, immediately adja-

66 Tennessee Comity History Series

cent to the hospital, were added later. In compliance with the
requirements of federal legislation it was possible, as need arose,
to add to the hospital facilities on a self-liquidation basis. Such
needs did arise and two wings were added including an intensive
care unit, an obstetrical and a surgical wing. By the end of 1974
there were 40 beds in the first wing, built in 1959; 21 in the East
Wing, built in 1965; 25 in the West Wing, built in 1974; and 50
beds in the nursing home, built in 1968. By 1978, the licensed
beds in the Claiborne County Hospital had increased to 86.
There now are 110 hospital beds and the nursing home im-
mediately adjacent to the hospital has 50 beds.

By 1978, the hospital had come to play a major role in the
economic life of the county and the entire Tri-State area. By that
year it held total assets of $2,674,804.58, of which $1,541,270.46
were in the plant. Of the latter its land had a net worth of
$36,679.25, its buildings a net worth of $1,342,958.56 and its
equipment $ 149,979.56. The hospital had $8 1 ,22 1 .3 1 in cash on
deposit, and $40,000 in savings. Accounts receivable for the
hospital were $928,537.38 and from the nursing home
$139,025.95. The total operating expenses of $2,309,259.76 of
the hospital presented a graphic picture of its place in the coun-
ty's economy. The expense of the nursing home, came to
$171,582.68 which created a loss of $129,406.75. Nursing serv-
ice for the hospital came to $557,353.99; housekeeping costs
came to $11 1,051.58.

From 1959 to June 30, 1978, the hospital management left
the general fund in a stable and healthy condition, standing at
$951,520.89 on that date. The ambulance service was improved
vastly through the training of one of its operators as a paramedic
at the University of Tennessee. The ambulance unit has now
added a coronary reporting system to insure adequate care of
heart attack victims en route to the hospital.

Claiborne County in Two World Wars

In harmony with the long established volunteer spirit in
Tennessee, young men from the county hastened to join the
military services during the two world wars of this century. Many

CLAIBORNE 67

of them did not wait for "Greetings" from the draft board.
However, when in 1917 the United States entered World War I
on the side of England and France, Selective Service was chosen
as the chief method of building a defense, and the Draft Board
in Claiborne County had strong public support. Members of the
board were M. B. Carr, chairman; James J. Kivett, secretary;
William H. Hodges, chief clerk; and Robert T. Ketron, member.
A legal advisory board was composed of J. H. S. Morrison,
George W. Montgomery, and J. E. Rogers. From June 5, 1917, to
September 12, 1918 the Claiborne County board selected 4649
men to go to induction camps, mostly to Camp Oglethorpe in
Georgia. Of these, 253 were disqualified, 84 were given limited
service, and 303 were classified for general service. During the
course of the war 41 were wounded and the following 22 men
were killed:

Leonard T. Brewer William Hobart Leach

Robert B. Carpenter Ballard Columbus Linch

Fred Cawood Estell William Look

Oscar P. Cupp Harvey Miracle

Lafayette Day Hagan Moore

Samuel H. Duncan William F. Moore

Major G. Ellison William C. Parkey

James I. Francisco, Jr. Lewis F. Pearson

Carben A. Keck Onie Sanford

Arthur V. Kilbert George W. Singleton

William Lasley Henry V. Soard

When the attack on Pearl Harbor shocked the nation in 194 1 ,
public opinion united strongly in support of the United States'
entry into World War II. Again, as in the previous war, there was
no opposition to the Draft Board which was headed by John L.
Goin with Hugh Trent Ramsey as secretary. Draftees and volun-
teers together met the needs of an enormous and rapidly grow-
ing military attempting to recover in the Pacific and to land on
the European continent against a strongly entrenched foe. The
world-wide conflict ended in victory for the United States and
her allies, but the casualty list for Claiborne County was much
greater than in World War I. Nine Navy men from the county

58 Tennessee County History Series

lost their lives: William Brooks, Charles L. Echols, Roscoe L.
Former, Robert N. Johnson, James Thomas Lynch, Lillon
Buford Lynch, Clifford Osborne, Charles H. Patterson, and
Kermit C. Taylor. In the Army, which included the Army Air
Forces (until 1947), 59 men were lost.

William J. Aye
Lee Berry

Sherman H. Braden
Lowell E. Brockman
Wesley L. Brooks
Harry L. Buis
Cleo Cain
Rov L. Campbell
Bill J. Clark
Millard O. Cline
Ross T. Collingsworth
George J. Davis
Harold D. Douglass
Edward G. Douglass
Neil England
Nathan E. Fisher
Austin S. Francisco
Lonnie E. Grady
Ernest Griffen
James E. Hamblin
Roy E. Hatfield
Henry A. Hopper
Samuel L. Houston
Neil E. Ingle
Ralph C. Jordon
Claude B. Keyes
Kels Laws
Conley Leach
Austin M. Long
John Manning

Tom Messer
John H. Miracle
Owen Money, Jr.
Maynard L. Nunn
Edwin E. Overton
Cordell Partin
Evert W. Pierce
Loyd J. Powers
Aaron Rains
Carl R. Reece
Kenneth B. Robinson
Vernon W. Robinson
James M. Rogers
Ernest E. Seal
Elvert E. Shiflet
Edward R. Shugart, Jr.
Roy W. Sivils
Riley L. Sutton
Clyde S. Taylor
Cecil C. Terry
Louis W. Treece
Harold C. Turpin
William Weaver
Daniel Weaver
Harold W. Welch
Pat M. Williams
A. F. Wolfenbarger
Woodrow W. Wright
John D. Yeary

Among the survivors of both wars many served heriocally
and made outstanding records. The following examples are

CLAIBORNE 69

representative of these Claiborne County men. Jefferson Davis
Earl, named after his father, was an early graduate of Claiborne
County High School and Lincoln Memorial University. He
volunteered for the duration of the war in the 59th Tennessee
Brigade of the 30th Division which was the spearhead, with
British aid, that broke the Hindenburg Line. Earl's intensive
study of many histories of the Civil War made him reflect
throughout his participation in the bloody engagement how the
daily events illustrated the classical principles of warfare. Earl
returned to the county to rear his family and serve in the
teaching profession and in the civil service until retirement.

Clarence T. Holt, entering service on September 20, 1917,
was trained initially in the artillery but was switched to the
ambulance service under the commander of the 30th Division
and served with British units in Belgium and France. Holt was an
early victim of gas attacks, but was not hospitalized, continuing
on active duty until the Armistice. He returned home in the
spring of 1919 to become a farmer and merchant. He and his
wife, Pearlie, had two sons, Leon and Lester.

John Alston, son of Harvey Alston, served his country well in
France and Cermany from April of 1918 until his return in the
spring of 1920. Unfortunately, Alston died of a fever in Decem-
ber of that year.

John Minton did not make the headlines as did the famous
rifleman, Alvin York, but as an artilleryman he fought valiantly
in the Chateau-Thierry drive and the battle of the Hindenburg
Line. He was helping to man guns in Battery D when a German
shell landed on his group, killing his lieutenant and killing or
wounding 20 others. Alston's left foot and right leg were severe-
ly injured. Immediate aid was delayed by the rage of battle, and
he spent almost two days in heavy rain in a shell hole before
rescue was possible. He returned in January of 1919 to settle
down on a hill farm and marry Katherine Poor, daughter of
Ewin Poore.

James Carl Breeding served in the Navy before and after
World War II. After Pearl Harbor, he participated in a series
of engagements in the western Pacific and at Dutch Harbor,
Alaska. After the war he participated in the test of atomic

70 Tennessee County History Series

power conducted by the United States at Enewetok. Breeding
and his loyal Navy wife, Alma, had a son, Stanley, who also
served in the Navy until his retirement.

Paul H. Cline, descended from a long line of Claiborne
County Clines, entered the Infantry from Knoxville in Decem-
ber of 1941 and served until November 14, 1945. He was trained
in the use of small arms and participated in the landing on the
Normandy beaches. He was involved in a number of battles in
the First Army under General Bradley and in the Third Army
under General Patton, and he suffered a broken ankle in com-
bat. Following the war he returned to Claiborne County to live.

The Twin Cities

Tazewell

In December of 1843 elections had been held within the
corporate limits to select a mayor and aldermen to govern
Tazewell in accordance with Tennessee law. The members-elect
assembled in the county courthouse the following year, took the
oath of office, and launched the new government. The historic
first government of the city of Tazewell consisted of James P.
Evans, mayor; William Neil (active then and later in the Baptist
church), Wesley Chittum, William Kirkpatrick, Jesse B. Lane,
A. A. McAmis, and Joseph White as aldermen. The council
named Lane as constable and gave him some necessary duties to
perform in transforming a frontier community into an accept-
able corporation.

As the Civil War approached, the docket record of the city
seemed to become more and more sparse which indicated inde-
cision and uncertainty with regard to the future. Then after the
very brief record of March 19, 1860, there is a gap in the
available docket with many pages cut out; it then resumes on
August 3, 1868. The mayor at the time the gap appeared in the
records was William Houston and council members were A. C.
Hansard, Thomas P. Graham, James B. Neil, and C. Y. Rice.
During the Civil War, military operations destroyed much of the
city and caused widespread disruption of church services. The

CLAIBORNE 71

records of the Baptist church noted that the church was "visited"
so often that Sunday services were abandoned for much of the
war period. The docket record for Tazewell begins in August of
1868 with P. G. Fulkerson as mayor and Newton Cowan, N. C.
Hodges, J. W. Parine, N.J. Treece, and N. U. White as alder-
men. Other city records from the postwar years to 1950 are
not available.

The city of Tazewell regained its corporate existence in 1954
and functioned well for several years with a prominent educator,
Marshall Dyer, as mayor. Aldermen were elected and served
under the restrictions then existing with regard to sources of
revenue. Use of real property as a source of operating funds was
restricted for all practical purposes to the county and state gov-
ernments, but the city did receive a small amount of revenue
from the state on its levy of the sales tax and especially from its
gasoline tax. Dyer's services as mayor could be characterized as
strict adherence to what he considered to be the law of the land.
During the next few years, E. J. Hardin, III, served at various
times as mayor; he and his alderman were signally successful in
making use of all available state and federal aids to local govern-
ment. Without such aids, Tazewell could not have re-ordered its
downtown areas through the Urban Renewal project by razing
buildings, residence or public, which could not be made to
comply with the requirements of health and aesthetics.

Urban Renewal specifically meant the removal of some
dwellings which could not be improved economically, the paving
of specified streets in the renewed area, compliance with health
regulations with respect to sewage and water, development of a
city park, the construction of low-rent housing to take care of the
absolute needs of those whose homes were deleted, and the
construction of a senior citizens building with the aid of New
Tazewell, federal funds, and civic organizations. The senior
citizens building has become one of the most thoroughly used
and appreciated of the new facilities in the burgeoning
Tazewells and indeed in the county. The proportion of the
elderly to the youth in Claiborne County is greater than in any-
similar area. Senior citizen activities, stimulated by a capable
staff under the enthusiastic leadership of Ray Epperson and

72

Tennessee County History Series

Paul E. Divine, lawyer and man-about-town, Tazewell

with strong support from the East Tennessee Council on Aging,
have enlisted enthusiastic support from both the elderly and the
entire county.

Throughout most of the life of the revived Tazewell city
government its activities have centered around the able record-
er, Douglas Overton, until he resigned in 1979 to be succeeded
by Douglas Harbin. Overton not only kept the books on what
had happened in meetings of the council, but, by means of
several years of tenure under different mayors, he furnished a
continuity which worked to the great advantage of Tazewell
which found itself in competition with many other towns strug-
gling to improve. Tazewell apparently was indeed fortunate
during the administrations of Marshall Dyer, Eph Gose, Joe
Frank Essary, Delbert Brooks, and E. J. Hardin, III.

New Tazewell

New Tazewell dates from the completion in 1890 of what is
now the Southern Railroad running from Knoxville to Middles-
boro, Kentucky. Its route meanders considerably in the New

CLAIBORNE 73

Tazewell area, being chosen in the final analysis so as to avoid
steep grades and special engineering obstacles. The railroad was
built primarily to tap what was expected to be a great manufac-
turing area with coal and iron ore as the principal ingredients
and with English capital as the stimulus. At its nearest point the
railroad was about two miles from the county seat of Tazewell.

The projected railroad from Knoxville to Middlesboro was
built at the instigation and with the financial assistance of the
American Association, Limited, an English firm, aided at every
turn by Alexander A. Arthur who foresaw riches to flow from
coal and iron lying in close proximity to each other in the
Cumberland Gap-Middlesboro area. The railroad was later
known as the Knoxville, Cumberland Gap, and Louisville Rail-
road Company and still later as the Southern Railway System
through a reorganization and purchase by Southern. The rail-
road's 63.56 miles in length from Knoxville to Cumberland Gap
was completed in 1890; later it was stalled for a time in reaching
Middlesboro by construction problems in tunnelling through
Cumberland Mountain. In the same year, a spur track, 3.65
miles long, was built from Cumberland Gap to a point known as
Ore Bed Junction north of the Watts Ore mine. The ore from
this mine was freighted until 1907 to Middlesboro, where it was
used to manufacture pig iron.

During the boom days which followed, Alexander Arthur
built a home for his family in Harrogate, so named because of his
dreams of Harrogate, England, which attracted wealthy people
for rest, recreation, amusement, and for health-giving results,
whether real or fancied, from the use of its mineral waters. In
Harrogate, Tennessee, efforts were made to create a resort. The
700-room Four Seasons Hotel was built, which was reached by
means of a 3.43 spur line from Arthur. The hotel had a casino
and a sanitarium, the latter eventually being used by Lincoln
Memorial University. English money was severely curtailed to
the area after the financial failure of the Baring Brothers in
London in 1892.

With the completion of the railroad, Claiborne County com-
merce was freed from complete dependence on wagons, and
loading and off-loading points were established at what became

74

Tennessee County History Series

The British built this famous house in Harrogate, Tennessee, about
the time of the railroad expansion to Middlesboro, Kentucky. It is now
owned by Judge and Mrs. William I. Davis.

New Tazewell, earlier called Cowan City for a prominent mer-
chant, S. A. Cowan, who with I. N. Cowan had sold land to the
railroad company. The Cowan City area had been chartered as a
municipal corporation on March 24, 1890. In 1954 this rapidly
growing mercantile community was incorporated as New
Tazewell.

New Tazewell's city government consisted of mayor and
aldermen. Charles Torbett was mayor from the time of the city's
incorporation until December of 1960 when he was followed by
Bill DeBusk who served until December of 1 96 1 . Harry D. Rowe
then became mayor and served until December of 1967; he was
followed by Edward Duncan. Following Duncan, Bill DeBusk
again served until August of 1970 when he became clerk of
circuit court. Charles Chadwell became mayor in October of
1979 and is serving presently in this capacity. Like the Tazewell
city government, that of New Tazewell fortunately has had the

CLAIBORNE 75

services of an earnest and able city recorder, Herschel Beeler,
who has helped the city to take advantage of federal, state, and
other sources of financial and professional assistance.

Like its neighbor the county seat, New Tazewell relied
strongly on the building code approved by the state and on a
comprehensive plan drawn under the aegis of the East Tennes-
see Office of the State Planning Commission, published as HUD
project No. Tenn P— 64. Transportation for New Tazewell is
furnished by the Southern Railway and by State Route 33 from
Knoxville to its juncture with Highway 25 East in Tazewell which
follows Highway 25 East as far as Big Sycamore where it turns
upstream by a two-lane road to Sneedville and thence to
Virginia. Electricity is furnished by the Powell Valley Electric
Co-op derived from TVA. Water is supplied by the Claiborne
County Utility District and is derived from the Ball Creek
Spring, a source that will meet the needs of a population of
35,000.

Some residential areas are served by two-inch pipes which
are inadequate in the event of such large scale use of water as for
fire. Adequate pressure also is lacked in a few spots which would
require the installation of additional pumpers. On December 2 1 ,
1940, New Tazewell experienced its second major fire in five
years. This fire began in the S. H. Flynn garage next to the New
Tazewell Methodist Church which became the first great loss in
the outbreak; then it continued consuming about one-half the
entire business district. Dorene Hufstedler, night operator of
the New Tazewell telephone company, became the heroine of
this tragedy by remaining on duty and sounding the alarm until
intense heat forced her to leave. After the Claiborne County
Utility District constructed water and sewage lines, New
Tazewell began to flourish beyond the expectations of its most
sanguine citizens.

The only actual deficiency experienced in utilities developed
with respect to electricity in 1978 when an unprecedented snow
storm disrupted electric power lines throughout the county
which lasted in some areas almost 72 hours. Many persons came
close to panic but the maintenance personnel of the Powell

76

Tennessee County History Series

Cumberland Gap, with L & N and Southern tracks leading the tunnel
under the mountain. Photograph courtesy of the National Park Service.

Valley Electric Company worked day and night until power was
restored. The Power Company then began re-working its lines
to prevent or reduce the chances of a reoccurrence.

County Growth and Development

By 1960, economic life in Claiborne County had sunk to its
lowest point after World War II. Young peole continued their
trek to cities, both north and south, and many continued to obey
Horace Greeley's injunction to go west. The county's population
had declined to slightly over 19,000, and the end of the tragic
decline did not appear to be in sight. Agriculture was the pri-
mary vocation of more than 80 percent of the population. Ex-
cept for tobacco, there was little or no cash inducement to grow
most traditional crops, and tobacco warehouses determined the
outcome of the chief cash crop. Dairy products, mostly class C
milk, were next in importance. Requirements for marketing
grade A milk imposed a barrier which most farmers could not

CLAIBORNE 77

overcome. However, by 1978 some dairymen, especially in
Powell Valley, were markedly successful.

Other than such industries as warehousing, tied closely to the
marketing of farm products, only two small industries offered
jobs to the young. Fortunately, during the 1950s, the county
court approved legislation which led to the creation of a utility
district in the Tazewell area. Prior to the 1960-1978 period,
home construction was limited to the absolutely necessary re-
placement of structures, most of which had long outlived their
usefulness. Construction of public facilities had been limited to
the three high schools, Claiborne County High School in
Tazewell, Powell Valley High School near Speedwell, and the
Forge Ridge High School in the extreme northeast section of the
county. It appeared to the county's leading citizens that some-
thing drastic must be done to stay the decline.

The drive to resuscitate economic life in Claiborne County
was led by an earnest group of citizens acting on their own
individual senses of urgency, the Claiborne County Chamber of
Commerce, the county court at critical moments, and the
Claiborne County Community Action Committee. This commit-
tee grew out of the National War on Poverty program as exem-
plified in the Office of Economic Opportunity. This effort of
OEO on the local level, however, was preceded by the individual
efforts of leading citizens, the Chamber of Commerce, and by
actions of the utility district in the Tazewell-New Tazewell area.

From its start in 1964, the Community Action Agency in
Claiborne County was a single-county organization which stood
against pressure from OEO echelons at the at the state, regional,
and federal levels to join in a multi-county organization. This
question was placed before the governing board of the agency at
numerous sessions, but the board expressed a strong preference
for "going it alone."

Other counties to the south with stronger economies and
higher per-capita incomes wanted to collaborate with Claiborne
for the simple reason that the allocation of federal funds, to a
large extent, was based on need as illustrated by what was at that
time designated as poverty level income for families of four. In
1966, 36.7 percent of Claiborne County's families had annual

78 Tennessee County History Series

incomes of less than $10,000 and 78.64 percent had incomes of
less than $3000.

The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 had the primary
objective of ridding the nation of poverty. This extremely ambi-
tious piece of legislation was based on certain assumptions which
undergirded the program from the top level in Washington to
the grass roots level in each operating unit. The Community
Action Committee was composed of certain ex-officio members
including the superintendent of schools, county judge, county
attorney, mayors, appointed representatives of the county court,
board of education, practicing physicians, business leaders, and
those selected by vote from each district. Edgar A. Holt served as
the executive director from 1965 to 1968 for this extremely
difficult but worthwhile program. To be sure, poverty was not
abolished, though the poverty level during the 1960s rose per-
ceptibly, due perhaps to the efforts of CAA improvements in the
national economic picture. It is evident, however, that much of
the improvement in the county stemmed from the growth of
local industry. Abundant supplies of water and sewage facilities
made possible a phenomenal economic growth.

The Headstart Program in Claiborne County perhaps
attracted the greatest local and national attention. It was de-
signed to give underprivileged children, who constituted the
core of school enrollments, a chance to catch up with their peers
whose experiences came closer to statewide levels of education.
This "catching up" process would occur earlier than the normal
enrollment age in schools and thus give to these youngsters a
head start for what would be expected of them in the first grade.

Headstart education began in the county in 1965 as an
abbreviated summer program. Emma Jo Hurst, who had been
serving the public schools in special education, became coordi-
nator for the program. She was an almost instant success because
she attracted to the program those youngsters who most needed
that kind of help and because she welded into daily activities the
natural enthusiasm of the children and the cooperation of their
parents. Hurst, the scores of capable teachers, and aides sup-
plied the magic that within one year brought state and national
attention to the program.

CLAIBORNE 79

The effectiveness of the Headstart program was proved by
the fact that Headstart-educated children performed one grade
point higher than their peers. The New Tazewell Center was
operated by Catherine Carr for a brief period, then by Dewey
Marsee, followed by Faye Harkleroad and Edna Loope. The
Arthur Center was operated by Elaine Ely and the Clairheld
Center by Orville Petree, Jean Luce, Tommy Jordan, and Marie
Cirillo. Marie Cirillo performed herculean tasks for her adopted
community both then and now.

By 1967, the Washington office of OEO, yielding to pressure
from more conservative elements, required that even 100 per-
cent federally aided counties like Claiborne must increase their
contribution to 20 percent of the cost of operation after July 1,
1967. OEO grants to the county included funds for the creation
and operation of neighborhood centers which were soon estab-
lished in New Tazewell, Arthur, and Clairfield. In addition,
satellite aid stations, manned by one or two aids were created to
work in conjunction with their nearest neighborhood center.
The purposes of the centers and aid stations were to improve the
lot of those whose incomes fell below the poverty designation,
which of course changed as the effects of the program and
improvements in the national economy took effect.

Although the neighborhood facility in Tazewell did not be-
come a reality during this period, it did result eventually in the
construction of the civic center located on the site of the former
Soldier's Memorial School. Planners estimated that the total cost
of the project would come to $652,438 and the development
costs to $567,100.

In 1972 the two Tazewells responded to the need and on
December 1, 1972, the council awarded the contract to W. B.
Browning Construction Company for $283,200. The two cities
applied their revenue sharing payments to this project that
became a reality, and it now performs the widespread function
of a civic center. It is located close to such educational facilities as
the Vocational School, the Little Red School for the Retarded,
and not far away from the Claiborne County High School
complex. A little farther up the hill is the new Soldiers
Memorial School.

80 Tennessee County History Series

Staffing of the county's OEO program was accomplished by
adherence to federal guidelines which empowered certain
appointees to be classified as professionals who could be
appointed from any income level while most of the remainder
were to be drawn from the targeted population. Training pro-
grams were put into operation to enable all those below the
professional level to improve their status. Natural differences
developed in the employment of those below the professional
level. These differences grew out of tradition based on kinship
or the performance of past or expected future favors. Executive
Director Edgar A. Holt, Assistant Director Clyde Huffaker,
Secretary Lizzie Mae Morley, a former county trustee, and the
majority on the governing board insisted on adherence to the
federal guidelines.

In order to improve the income level of the county's farm
population which constituted more than 90 percent of the total,
the CAA staff worked closely with the marketing elements of the
University of Tennessee's College of Agriculture to establish a
cooperative farmers' market. The plan never reached fruition in
this time period due to three major obstacles: the producers had
to be educated to produce only high quality vegetables, especial-
ly in the initial stages; a knowledgeable and well-known expert
director would have to market and be furnished electronic com-
munication to provide immediate shipments; a well-equipped
warehouse to store the produce and appropriate rail or truck
facilities were necessary. It was agreed by the market's planners
that Arthur would be the most accessible community to all parts
of the county and to its farm neighbors. Although the plan was
not put into operation at that time, it was feasible, and it would
have contributed much to the economic strength of the entire
tri-state area. Eventually, under the leadership of Luther
Whitaker, county agricultural agent, a farmers' market became a
reality. This market was aided by a grant from HUD and strong
professional assistence from the University of Tennessee.

Through the years the Claiborne County CAA obtained
sizeable grants from the federal government to raise the income
level of those on the lowest rung of the economic ladder. The
grant and its accompanying program for the year starting Janu-

CLAIBORNE 81

ary 31, 1969, illustrated the effort at perhaps its peak year. It
called for an expenditure of $402,689, of which $47,442 was
donated on the local level predominately, from "in-kind" avail-
able facilities. The federal share, or 80 percent, equalled
$355,237— $23,323 for conduct and administration; $63,259
for multi-service centers; $38,778 for summer Headstart; and
$269,036 for year-long Headstart.

Area Redevelopment Act and Other Assistance: Economic Renaissance

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, those who watched closely
the increasing indications of economic decay, however, noted
also that those who had gone north or even to southern cities
longed to return to their beloved hills. Claiborne County does
have an aesthetic lure to all who have gone away and to many
who pass through. When John F. Kennedy visited the Appa-
lachian area during the campaign of 1960, he vowed to help the
area if he were elected president. The result was the passage of
a law entitled the Area Redevelopment Act which made funds
available to redevelopment districts. The Claiborne-Campbell
County area was among the first to qualify for these funds.

The offer of help came none too soon for at that time only
two small industrial firms existed in the Tazewell area — Donlin
Sportswear and Brooks Furniture Manufacturing Company.
Lack of adequate sewage disposal almost ended the sportswear
company and lack of an adequate water supply did not permit
the furniture factory to install a sprinkler system, thus forcing
them to pay exorbitantly high insurance rates. Brooks would
have to close unless a new water system was installed.

The Brooks factory was established by a local man, Dr. Hilt
Brooks, a graduate of Claiborne County High School, who was
determined to remain in the area if at all possible. Due to lack
of adequate water, he could not expand at that time. Donlin
Sportswear of Union City, New Jersey, was owned by Meyer and
Seymour Arnstein who agreed to operate in the Tazewell area if
a factory was provided for them. Leading citizens, led by Lee
Dan Stone, J. M. Campbell, and others raised $65,000 to build
the factory.

Director of State Planning and State Deputy Coordinator for

82 Tennessee County History Series

Area Redevelopment Linzy Albert contacted local leaders in
Claiborne and Campbell counties, and in August of 1961
Tennessee's first OEDP (Overall Economic Development Pro-
gram) was published. This OEDP, required by the federal gov-
ernment, contained an analysis of social and economic condi-
tions in the two counties, a statement of future goals, and specific
suggestions and plans by which local leaders hoped to achieve
those goals.

A requirement of the OEDP was the establishment of local
planning commissions which were set into motion in the two
Tazewells with the aid of the State Planning Commission in
1963. The local planning agency published a land use plan
which evaluated the area, pointed their resources and problems,
and suggested planned solutions which might encourage an
orderly economic development. A second purpose of ARA was
to lend or give economic assistance to enable depressed areas to
achieve lasting improvement through diversified local activities.

The Tazewells fulfilled dramatically the purposes of ARA.
An engineering study of existing facilities such as warehouses
was made together with an estimate of present and future needs
for water and sewage. This study was sent to Washington and
was supported by delegations from the Tazewell area who made
eloquent and persistent pleas for assistance. Federal officials
finally concluded that loans and grants to finance water and
sewage developments could be given. In July of 1962 the
Tazewells received a $250,000 grant for their water systems, and
in October a $465,000 grant and a $243,000 loan for a new
sewage facility. Later an additional $ 14,000 loan was received on
the sewage facility bringing the total expenditures for water and
sewage to $972,000 of which $257,500 was a recoverable loan.

The results of this carefully placed investment in the county
economy were mind boggling. Between July of 1962 and
November of 1965 new construction activities amounted to
approximately $9,500,000. By 1966 new jobs created by this
renaissance in the county economy rose to more than 700. The
two Tazewells grew from 2032 in 1962 to 2757 in November
of 1965.

In 1 967 a movement to create an airport in the Tazewell area

CLAIBORNE

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came to a climax. The local chamber of commerce worked close-
ly, through its Executive Secretary William R. Stanifer, the
mayor of New Tazewell, the Claiborne County Quarterly Court,
and the state office of the Federal Aviation Commission to obtain
permission and financial aid from both the FAA and local
sources. During those years local leaders stressed the import-
ance of an airport to attract new industries to the county. On
December 1, 1967, the council approved a plan for financing as
follows: 50 percent from the FAA, 25 percent from the state,
and 25 percent from Tazewell and New Tazewell.

Until the slowdown in the national economy during 1979,
county population continued to increase. Growth in population
and economic activity also developed in the upper Powell Valley
sparked perhaps by the estalishment of a utility district for that
area sponsored by the Farmers Home Administration. Water
was drawn from Powell River and stored in tanks on higher
elevations so that pressure was guaranteed. Harrogate, Arthur,
and Shawanee were no longer dependent on water from Cudjo's
Cave; the need for water had increased beyond the normal
capacity of this source. Homes were constructed at a greatly
accelerated pace to meet the needs of incoming population from
the north and the south, to furnish homes for those who worked
in Middlesboro and for restored operations in the coal mines of
Kentucky and Tennessee. Plainly there was a near boom period
in the upper portion of Powell Valley.

Prior to the arrival of assistance from the federal and state
governments, strenous efforts were made by Claiborne County
leaders to awaken the county's life. For several years the Gose
family — C. W., Kelly, and Eph — had operated a small cabinet
manufacturing company on State Route 33, below New
Tazewell. They were high quality cabinet makers and, in a small
way, were highly successful. Taking note of the high skills of
their carpenters and noting, too, the success of the manufactur-
ers of mobile homes and recreation type vehicles, the family
decided to venture on their own. They first bought enough
supplies to build a limited number of mobile homes, built them,
and then sold them successfully. With the capital derived from
their own factory, they then proceeded to step up production.

CLAIBORNE 85

Again, they succeeded but with a familiar handicap, the high
cost of insurance due to the supply of water at that time not
permitting a sprinkler system. Action by Congress established
the Area Redevelopment Administration, and the rest is history,
except that the family's success led to an offer by the Midas
Corporation to buy Norris Homes and leave the Gose family in
operation for a three-year period while Midas prepared to take
over the actual operation. Local people operating from scratch
had proved that they could compete with the outside world.

Another local family who also succeeded was that of Charlie
England and his talented sons. They began manufacturing furn-
iture with three carpenters who were supplemented by their
own family. Within three years they had grown to 150 employees
with a new plant located on Highway 25 East on Tazewell's north
side. They also had the problem with high insurance rates until
the Claiborne County Utility District brought water in abun-
dance, together with a sewage system which made possible a far
reaching expansion in their output and in their market. Initially,
England Manufacturing Company supplied its own store, pri-
marily with upholstered furniture and also furniture for the
mobile homes built at the Norris Homes plant below New
Tazewell. By 1978 they had a work force of more than 300 and
distributed their products throughout the midwest.

The Tazewell Textile Industry has been justly described as
the "Million Dollar Prize," costing initially $1,226,000 and em-
ploying 225 persons with expansion planned to 600 when train-
ing can be completed in the operation of the machinery. Reid
Murphy, president of Dri-Set, Incorporated, and owner of a
plant in Chattanooga in 1963, explained why the company had
gone to Tazewell. First, there was an adequate supply of highly
trainable work force; second, there was an excellent water sup-
ply which would supply at least 100,000 gallons of water daily for
a factory; third, there was a good sewage system for the disposal
of industrial waste; and, last, and most important of all, there
was an aggressive leadership in the area.

New Tazewell attracted Claiborne Textile, Incorporated,
headed by Clyde Nevils, Luther Shipley, and Harold Higdon.
This plant started operations in April of 1976 at the facilities of

86 Tennessee County History Series

the former H. T. Hackney Wholesale Grocery. After one year of
successful operations there, Claiborne Textiles leased an adjoin-
ing tobacco warehouse and by late 1979 further expansion and
the construction of a storage warehouse was being considered.
On the initial day of operation the new industry had one experi-
enced machine operator; the next day, two; and within a short
time 50 other experienced machine operators were added to the
work force. By October of 1979 the total work force came to 225,
including a few positions filled by male employees. The effect of
this plant on the New Tazewell economy was immediate and
continuing. The weekly payroll is from $20,000 to $30,000; the
annual payroll is $6,000,000. Clearly, this mill is prospering and
is so managed that it can expand at any time. A key point in the
operation of this mill is the contract between Claiborne Textiles
and Oneita Knitting Mills of Andrews, South Carolina. Oneita
sells basic materials to Claiborne and then sends trucks to pick up
finished products. Mill operations have the protection of a water
sprinkler system which lowers the insurance rate, making opera-
tions costs competitive with other mills.

Donlin Sportswear, New Tazewell's first industry outside its
numerous tobacco warehouses, expanded through the building
of a new facility in the Tazewell-New Tazewell Industrial Park.
This park was acquired by aid from the county.

Investment in productive new factories exerted a multiplier
effect on the economy of the entire county. Other important
expansions resulting from ARA funding enabled the power
company to report, from July of 1962 to November of 1965, 80
new residential connections in the towns and 288 outside the
cities. At the same time there were 30 new commercial and
industrial connections. Two new low rent housing projects, one
in Tazewell for $408,000 and one in New Tazewell for $485,000,
were built in 1965. Claiborne County High School added a
$325,000 building and the hospital added a $50,000, 20-bed
addition. At the same time private investment in construction,
not including new homes, came to $3,902,000. Total invest-
ments, public and private, came to $9,47 1 ,000. Topping all these
exploits, an industry operated by Rufus Giles first located direct-
ly west of the Claiborne County High School, then later at

CLAIBORNE

88 Tennessee County History Series

Middlesboro, Kentucky, and then on Route 33 within New
Tazewell. The Giles family provided another local success story.
The growth of residences and industries in the Tazewells
and in the upper portion of Powell Valley has indeed been
phenomenal, but overall county growth is apparent on any road
reaching out from the major areas as moden new homes have
appeared. Building permits issued by the county remained high
through late 1979 when high construction costs and interest
rates appreciably affected both builders and buyers.

What Next for Claiborne County?

When Claiborne County began its existence in 1801, its gov-
erning body was known as the Quarterly Court and Plenary
Sessions and its presiding officer as the Judge, at other times as
the Chairman. Now, as the decade of the eighties begins, the
highest legislative body has been re-designated as the County
Commission composed of elected representatives from each civil
district. Its presiding officer is now called the Executive Officer.
In 1980, as in 1801, the scope of local legislative authority has
been defined by the Tennessee State Legislature. Over the past
century the tendency has been to prescribe local functions in a
more detailed fashion. From 1801 to 1835, members of the
Court were appointed by the governor; now they are elected by
local citizens.

Inflation and a decline in the economy of the nation have
created difficult problems. A certain degree of lawlessness, no-
tably burglary, has beset the county. Home building has lagged.
However, the citizens of Claiborne County are a tough breed of
people; it is expected that they will solve local problems. Those
who now tackle local government in search of solutions for these
problems are led by the Executive Officer, William D. Hurst,
who has a B.S. degree from East Tennessee State University and
a LL.B. degree from LaSalle. He served one term in the Legisla-
ture and four years as the county sheriff. Sixteen others are
elected from specific civil districts. These men are Marvin Sharp,
Cumberland Gap; Rondal Pete Cosby, Ronald Fultz, Marshall L.
Gilbert, J. R. Vannoy, and Joe Whitt Welch from Harrogate; Bill

CLAIBORNE 89

M. Brooks, Jack Munsey, Earnest Walker, Haskell Wells, and
Kenneth D. Simmons from New Tazewell; Iveron Grubb and
Wade Hunter from Speedwell; Clyde Breeding, Charlie Haynes
McDaniel, and Paul D. Singleton from Tazewell.

Legacies and Memories

Many old personal papers, letters, business records, and
wills, in addition to diaries, are a rich source of information for
historians, revealing values, beliefs, and practices of the writers
and the times in which they lived. Family Bibles, traditions, and
memorabilia provide other clues about those who preceded
current Claiborne County citizens and who played significant
roles in the settlement and development of the area. There were
many deserving of note, but only a few can be mentioned here.
Among the outstanding leaders of the early days were the
Graham brothers, Hugh and William, and Benjamin Sewell.
William, an architect who built two famous homes, later placed
on the National Register of Historic Places, and Tazewell's Pres-
byterian Church, was also a leader in religion and education, and
he owned large tracts of land in the county. His will, which
follows, has been copied from Claiborne County Will Book "A,"
1836-1847. The text follows, as closely as possible, Graham's
original spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. His bequests
particularly reveal his attitudes toward religion, education, and
slavery, as well as the extent of his land holdings and other
wealth.

Last Will and Testament of William Graham

I, William, Graham, of the County of Claiborne in the State
of Tennessee, do make and publish this as my last will and
testament hereby revoking and making null and void all
other wills by me at any time made.

1st, I direct that my funeral expenses and all my debts be
paid as soon after my death as is possible out of any monies
that I may die possessed of or that may first come to the
hands of my executors.

2nd, I give and bequeath unto my beloved wife, Margaret

90

CLAIBORNE 91

Graham, the following named property to have, hold, and
enjoy the same to her only use and benefit and behalf
forever to dispose of as she may think proper-vis: The
southwest half of the home tract of land being the tract
whereon I now live dividing the said tract in two equal parts,
beginning at a point upon the Straight Creek road and
running westwardly to Huddleston's line so as to include the
Spring where Francis Graham now lives-with the apperti-
nances thereto belonging or in any wise appertaining-The
boundaries of the home tract of land above refered to are
described as follows: Beginning where the Kentucky road
crosses Russels Creek thence across the Upper Blue hole to
the top of the bank of the ravine leading in to it thence along
the edge of said bank until a due west line will strike the east
end of Austin's north west line thence with said line to
Huddleston's field, thence with Austin's line northeast to
Marcum's corner thence northwest to Barron Creek Road
thence along said road to Cocke and Jack's line, thence with
it and the line of the Town of Tazewell to Russels Creek and
the place of beginning. I further give and bequeath unto my
said wife to dispose of in her own right as she may think
proper and to her own use and benefit as many of the farm
horses, mules, and together with gearing and farming uten-
sils as she may claim or want-also as many milch cows as she
may choose to keep out of my stock of cattle, — together with
all or as much as she may want of the household and kitchen
furniture. I further give and bequeath unto my aforesaid
wife One hundred dollars annually during her natural life
to be paid to her Quarterly by my Executors. Also I give her
ten shares of my stocks in the Union Bank of Tennessee to
dispose of as she may think proper. The following described
property I give and bequeath unto my aforesaid wife
Margaret for and during her natural life-vis: The northeast
half of the home tract of land as above described with the
buildings, hereditrements and appertanances thereto be-
longing or in any wise appertaining, also following named
negroes, to-wit: Stephen, Eliza, Cynthia, and James. Also
my Library of books, etc.

92 Tennessee County History Series

3rd, I direct that my slaves, namely, Phil and Lewis be set
free at my death. I further direct that at the death of my
aforesaid wife Margaret that Eliza, Cynthia, above named,
and their increase if there should be any, and also James,
above named, be all of them set free. I hereby enjoin it
particularly upon my executors hereafter to be named, that
they will as soon as possible after my death and the death of
my wife, comply with the requisitions of the laws of this state
in relation to the Emancipation of Slaves and carry that part
of my will in to execution by freeing the aforesaid negroes in
the manner pointed out by law.

4th, I direct that my executors pay to the negro slave
Stephen above named the sum of thirty dollars per annum
during his natural life, my motive for making this last and
forth bequest is that although Stephen is bound to serve his
mistress during his natural life, if he should be the longest
liver yet he is old and a cripple and after her death will
probably not be able to make a living and a support for
himself without some assistance, and I am not willing that he
should be a charge upon any other person. I further direct
that should said Phil or Lewis become crippled or from any
other misfortune be unable to make a living and a support
for themselves, that my executors allow them or either of
them as the case may be a comfortable support out of my
Estate about which my said Executors may exercise their
own discretion as to the amount to be allowed them or either
of them.

5th, I give and bequeath unto my nephew William Houston
that part of my farm lying west of Barron Creek Road
agreeable to the lines thereof also and half of my far
meadow including the lower end provided he, the said
William Houston, will take upon himself the burden and
trouble of executing my will as one of the Executors thereof.
Bounded as follows: Beginning on Stewart's line near two
sugar trees where the fence crosses the branch thence a
direct course to the fence as to divide the Spring equally
thence down the fence to a point near the bores in the

CLAIBORNE 93

straight creek road thence down the road to the Kentucky
road thence along the Kentucky Road to Hugh Graham's
line and to Stewart's line thence along Stewart's line to the
beginning with the appertanances and to hold the same to
himself and his heirs and assigns forever.

7th, I give and bequeath unto my sister Jane McNealance
for and during her natural life and after her death to the
heirs of her body forever the following described tract or
parcle of land being the same place on which she and the
family now live -beginning at a point in the Strait Creek
Road near the said road thence along the line up the
fence and through the aforesaid Spring to Stewart's line
thence along Stewart's line to the upper corner thence along
Stewart's and Hall's line to Harper's road and a line with the
same to the Strait Creek road thence along said road to the
beginning with the appertanances thereto belonging or in
any way appertaining forever.

8th, I give and bequeath unto James Fulkerson and Frances
his wife their heirs, etc. forever the northeastern half of my
home tract of land as herinbefore described to take the same
after the death of my aforesaid wife Margaret with the
appertenances thereto belonging or in any way appertain-
ing. My wife aforesaid having a life time Estate in the said
premises I also give and bequeath to said James Fulkerson
and Francis his wife a tract of land containing twentyfour
acres lying upon Walden's Ridge adjoining the Hurst place
with the appertenances etc. to them and their heirs forever,
also my library books-together with all my household and
kitchen furniture of every kind and description, whatever
except such part as my aforesaid wife may choose to claim in
her own right for her benefit exclusively agreeable to the
bequest of her hereinbefore stated. The books and furni-
ture to remain in the possession and enjoyment of my
aforesaid wife during her natural life, the said James
Fulkerson and Frances his wife is to take the bequest to
them subject to a lien of three hundred dollars to be paid to
Hugh Houston or his heirs in three annal instalments the

94 Tennessee County History Series

first hundred dollars to be paid in twelve months from the
time said James Fulkerson and his wife Frances shall take
the possession of the farm and premises herein bequeathed
to them. I here in further direct that my negro man
Stephen have the privilege and enjoy the possession of the
house in which he now lives, and a part of the barn field
for a truck patch and to be free from the call of every per-
son to render labour or services of any kind.

9th, I give and bequeath to any regular Old School Presbyte-
rian Minister of the Gospel who will live and reside on the
land and preach regularly to the Congregation of the Pres-
byterian Church in Tazewell the use and occupation of
the following described tract or parcel of land to-wit: The
farm on which Wanakoff now lives, bounded as follows: By
Harper and the Old Garrisson Roads and Stewart's and
Hall's lines and a line from the upper part of the road near
where Bullards road joins it thence a direct line to the
Straight Creek Road thence with said road to the line of
the tract of land herein bequeathed to Jane McNealance,
etc., etc. The better to carry into effect my will in the fore-
going bequest, I here by Vest the Legal title to the foregoing
described tract of land in my Executors here after to be
named to hold the same in trust for the uses above named
viz: For the benefit of any regular Old school Presbyterian
Minister of the Gospel, but should any one take possession
of said farm or tract of land for the purposes above stated,
and afterwards fail or neglect to preach regularly to the
congregation at the Presbyterian Church in Tazewell, he
is to be turned off by the trustees hereafter to be named
and some other of like persuasion placed in possession who
will in a Christian like manner comply with requisitions of
said bequest. My executors who are also made trustees in
this case are hereby impowered to Convey said tract of land
to any incorporated Body or the Elders of said Church in
Trust nevertheless for the purposes aforesaid-as said
Trustees may think proper and expedient. But if no
Minister of the Gospel as aforesaid will come and reside
upon said land for the purposes aforesaid-it shall be the

CLAIBORNE 95

duty of said Trustees to rent or lease out said land and
the monies arising there from to be applied to paying a
Salary to some Presbyterian Preacher of the Gospel as
above stated to preach at the Presbyterian Church in
Tazewell.

10th, I give and bequeath to my sister Mary Wier the
Wallace farm lying between the line of the last above de-
scribed tract the Old Garrisson road, Stewart's line to his be-
ginning thence with his beginning line reversed to where it
strikes a west line of my house tract thence along it east-
wardly to the East bank of the ravine to the Blue hole and
thence along the line crossing the blue hole to the be-
ginning with the same unto herself, her heirs and as-
signs forever.

1 lth, I give and bequeath unto my nephew Thomas Wier
the Dunn tract of land bounded as follows to-wit: by a
straight line extended westwardly with the course of the
fence built by Townsley in the spring of 1 84 1 , across the end
of the Hurst field to the outside line thence eastwardly the
same course to the back line to include all the land lying
south of said line-to have and to hold the same with the
appertenances thereto belonging or in any way appertain-
ing to himself, his heirs and assigns forever.

12th, I give and bequeath unto my Brother John Graham
the ballence of the Hurst tract of land not herein before
bequeathed and described by . . . and boundaries . . . with
the appertinances thereto belonging and in any way apper-
taining to himself and his heirs forever.

13th, I give and bequeath unto Maria Graham the house
and lot on which she now lives Bounded as follows: By Hall's
line, Russel's creek, the Kentucky road and Hugh Graham's
line, with the appertinances thereto belonging or in any way
appertaining to have and to hold unto herself, her heirs and
assigns forever. I further give and bequeath unto said Maria
Graham, her heir and assigns, two shares in the Northern
Bank of Kentucky.

96 Tennessee County History Series

14th, I give and bequeath unto Francis Graham fifty dollars
to relieve him of debt. I further direct that if no Minister of
the Gospel should come to occupy the place whereon said
Wanakoff now lives, or until the same is leased or rented out
by Trustees agreeable to a former part of this will, I desire
that the said Francis Graham be permitted to occupy said
place free from the payment of rent.

15th, I give and bequeath 10 shares of my Stocks in the
Memphis Bank of Tennessee to the old School Foreign
Missionary Society.

16th, I give and bequeath 10 shares of my Stock in the
Memphis Bank of Tennessee to the Trustees of the Old
School home Missionary Society.

17th, I give and bequeath five shares of my stock in the
Memphis Bank of Tennessee to the Bible Society.

18th, I give and bequeath five shares of my stock in the
Memphis Bank of Tennessee to the foreign tract Society.

19th, I give and bequeath to the Trustees of Washington
College in the County of Washington, East Tennessee, ten
shares of my stock in the Memphis bank of Tennessee for
the use and benefit of said College provided it should re-
main old School but on change to new school to refund the
money or transfer the stocks back to my Executors here
after to be named.

20th, I give and bequeath ten shares of my stock in the
Memphis Bank of Tennessee to the old School Dokes
[Doake's] Theological Seminary when it goes into full and
successful operation in Greene County, Tennessee-should
said institution not go into operation for five (5) years then
the ten shares of stock bequeathed to said institution is
hereby given and bequeathed to the Washington College, if
it should be in successful operation under the Old School
restriction. Should said Washington College not be in suc-
cessful operation as aforesaid under the Old School restric-
tions then and in that case five of the shares aforesaid of
Stock in the Memphis Bank is hereby bequeathed to the

CLAIBORNE 97

Trustees of Speedwell Academy in the County of Claiborne,
and the other five shares is hereby bequeathed to the Com-
mon School fund of Claiborne County to be appropriated
for the benefit of Common School in the County of
Claiborne aforesaid.

21st, I give and bequeath unto the Trustees of Speedwell
Academy in the County of Claiborne and their Successors
five shares of my stock in the Memphis Bank of Tennessee
for the use and benefit of said academy together with the lot
of Ground for an Academy lying between Kentucky road,
Maria Graham's lot and Hall's lines, with the appertinances
to them and their successors forever for the use and pur-
pose aforesaid.

22nd, I give and bequeath unto the Common School fund
of Claiborne County the remaining five shares of my stock
in the Memphis Bank of Tennessee for the use of Common
Schools in the County of Claiborne. Also I hereby bequeath
a sufficient quantity of the ground described in the gift to
the Trustees of Speedwell Academy the County of
Claiborne to build a Common house upon for the use of
Common Schools aforesaid.

23rd, I give and bequeath to my sister Jane McNealance the
dividend on five shares of my stock in the Union Bank of
Tennessee— and at her death the said five shares of Stock in
the Union Bank is to be equally divided among the children
of said Jane McNealance together with the farm upon which
they live as herein before bequeathed.

24th, I give and bequeath unto my Brother John Graham
the dividend on three shares of my stock in the Union Bank
of Tennessee to be paid him by my executors in suitable
articles of merchandise for the use of his family (no money)
and at his death the said three shares of Union Bank Stock
to be equally divided amongst his children.

25th, I give and bequeath unto William G. Eaton one hun-
dred dollars to be paid him by my executors three years
after my death.

98 Tennessee County History Series

26th, I give and bequeath unto my Brother Hugh Graham
five shares of my stock in the Union Bank of Tennessee.

27th, I give and bequeath unto my nephew William G.
Patterson the remaining two shares of Stock in the Union
Bank of Tennessee.

28th, I give and bequeath unto my sister Mary Wier the
dividend on five shares of my stock in the Northern Bank of
Kentucky, and at her death I give and bequeath the five
shares of Stock in the Northern Bank of Kentucky aforesaid
to the children of said Mary Wier to be equally divided
among them. I further direct that the tract of land herein
before described and bequeathed to said Mary Wier at her
death be sold and the money arising from said sale be
equally divided amongst her children.

30th, I give and bequeath unto my sister Nancy Patterson
the dividend on five shares of my stock in the Northern
Bank of Kentucky to be paid to her by my executors and
at her death I direct that said five shares of Bank Stock
be equally divided amongst the children of said Nancy
Patterson.

31st, I direct that my executors pay to each of my slaves
herein directed to be set free the sum of ten dollars as soon
as they are emansipated to enable them to leave this State
and go to a free State.

32nd, I direct that should my money on hand and available
debts be not sufficient with remaining dividends to meet my
bequests recourse must be had to my Stock in the Northern
Bank of Kentucky and my Executors are hereby impowered
and directed to sell as much of said Stock as may be neces-
sary to make up any deficiency of funds to meet all of my
bequests. But should my money, debts and remaining di-
vidends be sufficient to meet all my bequests and pay all my
debts, then the remaining Stock in the Northern Bank of
Kentucky and the dividends to be a fund to meet any con-
tingency for and during the natural life of my aforesaid wife
Margaret Graham. I further direct that her funeral ex-

CLAIBORNE 99

penses be paid by my executors after the death of my wife all
expences and claims having been paid. Then twenty shares
of my Stock in said Northern Bank of Kentucky together
with the dividends due thereon are to be equally divided
amongst any nephews and nieces in proportions to their
necessities or wants as my Executors may Judge prudent
and right, about which they are to exercise their own
discretion.

33rd, I give and bequeath my remaining twenty shares of
my stock in the Northern Bank of Kentucky to Washington
College, East Tennessee and Dokes [Doake's] Theological
Seminary each ten shares-provided each are in successful
operation — Or if any one of said institutions are in suc-
cessful operation then and in that case the twenty shares
of Bank Stock aforesaid is to go to whichever of said institu-
tions is in successful operation at the time aforesaid. But if
neither of said institutions are in successful operation then
and in that event the said twenty shares of Bank Stock in the
Northern Bank of Kentucky to be divided amongst my
nephews and nieces by my executors in the manner above
stated agreeable to their wants and necessities.

34th, I direct that my executors sell upon a credit all my
stock of horses, mules, cattle, etc., etc., except such as my
wife aforesaid may wish to keep and appropriate to her own
use. Also such farming Utentcals as my wife may not want
for her own use. Settle all my accounts, pay of all my debts
and collect what may be due owning me as soon as possible.
The ballance due upon Thomas L. Davis's note is to be
deducted from his share of my estate which he may be
entitled to by virtue of a devise in my will.

35th, I direct that my executors-and they are hereby im-
powered to transfer any Bank Stock herein devised so as to
carry the provision of my will into complete effect. And
they are hereby authorized and impowered to appoint and
make an attorney to transfer said Stock as to my said execu-
tors may be most convenient. I hereby recommend to my

100 Tennessee County History Series

executors to nominate and appoint Robert Patterson of the
City of Philadelphia to make such transfers of Stock as it
may be inconvenient for my executors to make themselves.

36th, I hereby bequeath unto my wife Margaret Graham ten
shares of my stock in the Northern Bank of Kentucky
together with one yoke of oxen and the ox waggon. In lieu
of and instead of the Southwest half of the home tract of
land which I had in the foregoing part of this will be-
queathed to her, in her own right, to dispose of as She might
think propper. I vest in her now a lifetime estate in said tract
of land, and after the death of my aforesaid wife that part of
the home tract of land as well as the north east half of said
tract with the appertinances thereto belonging to be vested
in said James Fulkerson and Frances his wife, their heirs
and assigns forever. The Bank Stock herein bequeathed to
my wife together with the oxen and waggon is to be at her
entire disposal and for her own use and benefit and should
there be a crop of grain growing on said home tract of land
at the time of my death it is to be for the sole use and benefit
of my said wife.

37th. Whereas in Consequence of the last bequest to my wife
Margaret of ten shares of Stock in the Northern Bank of
Kentucky there will be only ten shares left for the Washing-
ton College and Dokes Theological Seminary, I hereby
direct that five shares of said Bank Stock go to each of said
Institutions upon the restrictions and conditions that the
ten shares of said Stock was [bequeathed] to them.

39th. And lastly I do hereby nominate and appoint my
Brother Hugh Graham and my nephew William Houston
my executors, without giving security, with full power and
authority to do everything necessary to carry in to complete
effect every clause and bequest in this my will, in testimony
whereof I have here unto set my hand and seal this 22nd day
of January in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight
hundred and forty-one.

N.B. The last line in the 5th bequest which is somewhat

CLAIBORNE 101

crowded was written previous to Signing. In the 3rd bequest
the Words "and the death of my wife" and the words
"Francis Graham" in the 14th bequest, and the words
"which may be entitled to" in the 24th bequest, were all
interlined previous to signing. The words "In the Town of
Tazewell" in the 13th bequest and the words "my broth-
er" in the 14th bequest, and the word "hogs" in the 34th
bequest, were stricken out previous to signing and publish-
ing, etc., etc.

Signed and published

in our presents

and we were

called to witness

the same this 22nd January 1841

David Richardson
Thomas J. Johnson

William Graham (Seal)

Both the Grahams and Benjamin Sewell, a leading merchant
and landowner, were money lenders. Because of the absence of
chartered banking facilities in many frontier communities, peo-
ple were dependent on loans from private individuals. Sewell
conducted a profitable private loan business in Tazewell, as in
indicated by the extensive lists of debtors attached to his will. For
the benefit of his executors, he divided the lists into those debts
"considered good" and those "considered doubtful and bad."
Following Sewell's death, an inventory list of his personal estate
included such items as straw bonnets, razor straps, "4 papers of
fever and ague powders," "5 vials of wormseed oil," "4% Doz.
Worm Destroyer," tanners' tools, ladies', men's, and children's
saddles, and other items that a frontier merchant might have in
his store. The variety of coins listed included gold eagles and
sovereigns, "Beehler pieces" and a "silver double Thaler."
Sewell's will shows him to be a man with definite ideas about his
widow's possible remarriage and his sons' education for the
ministry. The will, which was written on September 2, 1846,
includes two codicils dated March 23, 1847, and April 1, 1847.

102 Tennessee County History Series

The final witnesses signed on February 9, 1848. Taken from the
handwritten copy, the text follows the original as closely as possi-
ble. Sewell rarely used any punctuation.

Benjamin Sewell's Will

Tazewell Tennessee I Benjamin Sewell of the county of
Claiborne in the State of Tennessee being of Sound minde
and Memory and cauling to minde the frailness of my
Boddy and the shortness of life and in ordor to a dispossi-
tion of my worldy affects according to my will and desser
after my death, do make and publish this my last will and
Testament

First It is my will and desire that my Executers hereafter
named upon my death take charge of. and into their posses-
sion all goods wars and Merchandise which may be on hand
and unsold at the time of my death also all my money on
hand, and all my murcantile books and papers of Every
discription and all my books of accounts Notes bills or bonds
for the payment of Money, and all Securites for debts due
me and that my said Executers make out a perfect inventory
of the same, and of all debts and accounts due me and it is
my wish that my said Executers shall as Soon as they can
collect all debts due me by note bill bond Judgment account
or otherwise, and that with regards to my stock of goods
wears and merchandise on hand at my death that my Said
Executers take charge of the same and sell the same or
dispose of them in the Manor which to them may Seam the
best for the intrest of my estate

Second It is my wish and desire that all my Just debts be
paid by my Executers as soon after my death as posable out
of the first money which may come to their hands out of my
estate

Thirdley I Give and bequeath to my Son Thomas Sewell
and to his heirs and assigns for ever two tracts of land lying
in Claiborne county Tennessee on Gap Creek between
Sumeys Mill and Powels River one of Said tracts containing
four hundred acres and the other containing one hundred

CLAIBORNE 103

acres more or less and both of which Tracts of Land were
granted to me by the State of Tennessee also I give and
bequeath to my Said Son Thomas Sewell and to his heirs and
assigns forever two other tracts of Land lying in Claiborne
County Tennessee on the south side of Powels River adjoin-
ing the lands of Thos J Harvy being the place called the
dogwood Sinks and both of which tracts of land were
granted by the State of Tennessee to John Trease one of
said tracts for two hundred acres and the other for one
hundred acres and convaid to me by the said John Treease
and I also give and bequeath to my Said Son Thomas Sewell
two hundred dollars in money to be paid to him by my
Executers three years after my death

Fourthly I give and bequeath to my daughter Susanah
W Whetsel and to her heirs and assigns forever the lands
conveyed to me by James Manday in Claiborne County
Tennessee and being origanlly three tracts of which two
were for fifty acres Each and one for forty acres all adjoining
Each other and conveyed to me in two Deeds adjoining the
lands of Samuel Hamilton, and Thomas Elison and the tract
formerley owned by Asa Watson and I also give and be-
queath to my Said daughter Susanah W Whitsel and to her
heirs and assignes forever one other tract of land in said
county of Claiborne adjoining the lands above bequeathed
Containing fifty acres more or less and being a tract of land
bought by me from Lawson Eastrage and I further give and
bequeath to my Said daughter Susanah W Whitsel one
hundred dollars in money to be paid to her by my Executers
three years after my death

Fifthly I Give and bequeath to my daughter Betsey D
Burdine and to her heirs and assigns for ever three tracts of
land lying in Claiborne County Tennessee one of Said tracts
being the caulled the William Murray place and being the
place whereon Jacob Pike now lives containing one hundred
acres more or les also one other tract adjoining the above
named tract and which I bought from Jacob Pike containing
fifty acres more or less and the third tract lying in the same

104 Tennessee County History Series

neighborhood but not adjoining the others and which tract
I bought from James Mandy Senr. containing fifty acres
more or less and I further give and bequeath to my Said
daughter Betsey D burdine a life estate in a negro woman
named nancy and her children to Serve her during the
natural life of my said daughter and I give and bequeath
said negro woman Nancy and all her increas upon the death
of my said daughter Betsey D Burdine to all the children of
my Said daughter living at the time of her death and to their
heirs and assigns forever

Sixthley I Give and bequeath to my Grand Son John
Livis Burdine Son of Betsey D Burdine two hundred dollars
to be paid by my Executers within four years after my death
and I also give and bequeath to my Grand Son Samuel
Patton Burdine two hundred dollars to be paid to him by my
executors within four years after my death

Seventhly I Give and bequeath to Matilda Jones my
daughter and to her heirs and assigns forever all the lands in
Powels Vally which were conveyed to me by John Bruster
and John V Bruster lying in Powels Vally in Claiborne
County Tennessee the deed to me caulling for two hundred
and Eleven acres more or less and I also Give and bequeath
to my said daughter Matilda Jones one hundred dollars in
Money to be paid by my Executers with in four years after
my death

Eightly I Give and bequeath to my Grand daughter
Virginia Rogers Daughter of Malinda Rogers a female slave
named Laura who was a daughter of my slave Lucy to have
and to hold said slave Laura and her increas to the said
Virginia Rogers and her heirs for Ever and I also Give and
bequeath to the said Virginia Rogers three hundred dollars
in money the money to be paid over and the said slave and
increas to be put in her possession when she arrives at the
age of twenty one years or sooner if she should Marry
before that time

Ninthly having heretofore made advances to all my chil-
dren here in before named I do hereby confirm to them all
gifts on advances heretofore made by me to them and their

CLAIBORNE 105

heirs forever in addition to the present bequests here in
made to them

Tenthley I give and bequeath to my daughter Margret
Virginia Sewell and to her heirs and assigns forever the
following named lands and lots of land to wit five lots in the
present limits of Tazewell in what is called new town on the
east side of main street three of said lots adjoining main
Street and adjoining Each other and number in the survey
and plane of said part of the Town as lots No 18 19 and 20
the other two lots lying back east of the above lots and
numbered No 21 and twenty two said lots adjoining the
north alley of the old Town also two other lots of land now
under fence and in my possession immedateley back of the
lots above bequeathed and running down the Hill and cross-
ing russels creek being the two upper creek lots of land
bellonging to me and being the furthest up the creek of any
of my Creek lots I also give and bequeath to my said daugh-
ter margrat Virginia Sewell and to her heirs and assigns for
ever my upper meddow which I now have on russels Creek
and including as now fenced a potion of land on both sids of
said Creek but lying princapally on the east side and above
the old tan yard to run as it is now fenced and also a Small
potion of land on the outside of said meddow on the west
side yet uninclosed beginning on a rock corner neer the
Meddow bar and running a direct line to a ceeder corner
Standing Just above the presant Mullbery road and from
thence to a rock corner just out side of the woods lot fence
thence with said fence to the beginning I further give and
bequeath to my said daughter Margret Virginia Sewell and
to her heirs and assigns forever a lot of ground to contain
one half acre to be laid off of the lower end of my wheat field
on the upper side of Town immediately above and adjoin-
ing what is called back street and to be laid of next to and
immediately north of a lot of one quarter of an acre sold by
me to John A Hollinsworth so as to leave a lane or alley
twenty feet wide between it and Hollingsworths Lot and
which lane or alley it is my wish should be left open for a
passway to the field above the Lot said Lot to be run so as to

106 Tennessee County History Series

make seven and a half poles in front on Back street and to
extend in length up the hill eleven poles so as to make full
one half acre. I further give and bequeath to my said daugh-
ter Margaret Virginia Sewell and to her heirs and assigns
forever a certain tract of land in Claiborne County Tennes-
see which I bought from Ransome Day Junior on the waters
of Sycamore Creek containing sixty acres more or less And I
further give and bequeath to my said daughter Margaret
Virginia Sewell and to her heirs and assigns forever one
other tract or parcel of land in claiborne county bought by
me from Sally Lanhan and adjoining the lands of Jacob
Cloud containing eighty acres more or less I also give and
bequeath to my said daughter Margret Virginia Sewell and
to her heirs and assigns forever the following named slaves
and their increase namely a Negro man Mack a negro
woman named Emiline and a negro boy named Jefferson.

Eleventh I give and bequeath to my son James Joseph
Sewell and to his heirs and assigns forever a tract of land
near Tazewell called the Tan yard place conveyed to me by
James Allen on Russels creek on the east side of the creek
and also a Lot of land adjoining the above called the woods
Lot on the west Side of Russels creek between the creek and
the Mulberry road to run as it is now fenced. Also a tract of
land in claiborne county which was conveyed to me by David
C. Posey on both sides of the Kentucky road containing
three hundred and fifty eight acres more or less. Also one
acre of my present wheat field back of and adjoining the
Town of Tazewell to be laid off to him in a manner conve-
nient for him and the others to whom portions of said field
may be divised. I also give and bequeath to my said son
James Joseph Sewell and to his heirs and assigns forever the
following slaves and their increase namely a negro man
named Barnet a negro named James and one named
Isabella.

Twelfth I give and bequeath to my son Houston Sewell
and to his heirs and assigns forever one Lot in the Town of
Tazewell on which my Brick Store house is situated with the
appurtenances there to belonging on main Street also a tract

CLAIBORNE 107

of land near Tazewell on both sides of Russells creek called
the Dobbs tract, being the tract on which Chesley Dobbs
formerly lived with the appurtenances thereto belonging
including the grist mill, containing ninety acres more or less
and also two fields now in cultivation adjoining the same and
between said tract and the Kentuckey road and said fields
being a part of the Posey lands. Also a tract of land where
Beverly Marcum once lived one hundred and thirty one
acres more or less conveyed to me by Peter Marcum I also
give and bequeath to my said son Houston Sewell and to his
heirs and assigns forever the following Slaves and their
increase to wit John, Sally, and Henry-
Thirteenth I give and bequeath to my daughter Mary
Louisa Sewell, and to her heirs and assigns for ever The two
Lots in the town of Tazewell on which I now live and on
which is Situated my Brick Dwelling house with the
appurtenances thereto belonging, on Main Street and also
two Lots in said Town on the oposite side of the street and
immediately fronting the two lots above named, with the
appurtenances thereto belonging also one other Lot in
Tazewell back of the dwelling house Lots, and on which a
Kitchen is built and also the balance of my wheat field back
of Tazewell after laying off the Lots heretofore devised out
of the same I also give and bequeath to my said daughter
Mary Louisa Sewell and to her heirs and assigns forever the
following named slaves to wit, Dilsey and her two children,
George and Amanda and their increase and also my negro
woman Maria and her increase.

Fourteenth I give and bequeath to my wife Ann Jane
Sewell and to her heirs and assigns forever all my household
and kitchen furniture of every description whatever and all
grain and provisions of every kind which may be on hand at
the time of my death, and also all crops on hand and grow-
ing if any and also all farming utensils on hand and all my
horses, cattle, sheep and hogs on hand at the time of my
death and also all wagons, carriages and gearing & harnes
on hand at the time of my death — I also give and bequeath
to my said wife Ann Jane Sewell the right and privilege of

108 Tennessee County History Series

living in and occupying my Brick house in which I live and
the Lots bequeathed to my daughter Mary Louisa Sewell,
until my said daughter Mary Louisa arrives at the age of
twenty one years. And I also give and bequeath to my said
wife Ann Jane Sewell the privilege of using and occupying
and receiving the rents and profits to her own use of all Lots
and lands of every name and description which is herein
before bequeathed by me to her said four children James
Joseph, Margaret Virginia Houston and Mary Louisa
Sewell, until the said four children arrive respectively to the
ages of twenty one years. And also it is my will and desire
that my said wife Ann Jane Sewell have the use of and
receive the services and hire of all the negroes herein be-
queathed to my said four children until the said children
respectively arrive at the ages of twenty one years. But the
privileges herein given to my said wife Ann Jane Sewell of
the occupation and enjoyment of and receiving the rents
and profits of houses, Lots and tracts of land bequeathed to
my four children therein is also to cease and be at an end
whenever My said wife Ann Jane Sewell marries again and
the same to go to my said children immediately upon the
marriage of my said wife without respect to the ages of said
children And the rights of my said wife to the use, services
and hire of the said negroes bequeathed to my said four
children, are to cease upon her marriage and said negroes
to pass upon said marriage into the possession of my said
four children or their guardians for them immediately
upon the marriage of my said wife Ann Jane Sewell without
respect to the ages of my said children — Also I give and
bequeath to my said wife Ann Jane Sewell fifty dollars
annually during the time She remains a widow, to be paid to
her by my executers And it is my wish that my said wife Ann
Jane Sewell shall live with my daughter Mary Louisa Sewell
as much longer than the times above specified in the dwell-
ing house and Lots bequeathed to said Mary Louisa, as my
said wife and daughter can agree together.

Fifteenth — It is also my will and I hereby bequeath to
my said four children, James Joseph, Margaret Virginia,

CLAIBORNE 109

Houston and Mary Louisa Sewell all monies arising
from my estate after payment of my debts, funeral ex-
pences, and expences of incident to the winding up of my
estate, and all property of mine real and personal not
otherwise specially bequeathed, to be equally divided be-
tween them to have and to hold the same to them and
their heirs forever — It is also my wish that my said four
children, James Joseph Margaret Virginia, Houston, and
Mary Louisa Sewell shall receive an education Suitable
to their estates and several capacities so far as can
reasonably be done.

Sixteenth It is my wish and desire that my two sons
James Joseph, and Houston Sewell be educated for the
ministry and that as soon as can be done that they be placed
in some suitable institution for the study of Divinity.

Seventeenth It is my will and desire that in case any one
or more of my said four children James Joseph Margaret
Virginia, Houston and Mary Louisa Should die that the
survivors of said four children Shall take and receive and
hold the lands, slaves, money or property bequeathed to
those so dieing or being dead, to have and to hold the same
to the said survivors of them and their heirs and assigns
forever — And it is also my will and desire that should my
wife Ann Jane Sewell die before I do that the property here
in bequeathed to her of every kind and description go to,
and is here by divised to my said four children James
Joseph, Houston, Margaret Virginia, and Mary Louisa
Sewell or the survivors of them to be equally divided be-
tween the — In Testamony whare of I have hereunto Set my
hand and Seal this 2nd day of September in the year of our
Lord one thousand Eight hundred and forty six

Benjamin Sewell (Seal)
Signed Sealed and acknowledged in the presance of us, and
we called on by the testator to witness the same and wit-
nessed in the presance of the Testator the date above
Walter R Evans
James Hardy
R C Hansand

110 Tennessee County History Series

The foregoin will was acknowledged before us by the Re-
quest of the Testator & in his presence this 9th day February
1848

John S. M. Dickinson
M Comiger —

1st Codicil

I Benjamin Sewell of the county of Claiborne and state of
Tennessee being of sound minde and memory having
perchased and acquired the title to other lands since the
making and publishing my will to which this is an addition,
for the purpose of disposing of the same according to my
wish and desire for the purpose also of making what I
conceive to be a more suitable division amongst my children
do make and publish this codicil, as a part of my said will and
hereby confirming all things contained in my said Will
which are left unaltered in this codicil.

First; My negro man Mack heretofore bequeathed to my
daughter Margaret Virginia Sewell. I now take from my
said daughter and I here by give and bequeath my said
negro man Mack to my wife Ann Jane Sewell during her
natural life, and at her death to belong to my four children
Margaret Virginia Sewell, James Joseph Sewell, Houston
Sewell and Mary Louisa Sewell and to their heirs and assigns
forever — And it is my wish that my said wife Ann Jane
Sewell shall not sell or transfer her said interest in said slave
Mack, in any way, or to any person unless it be to my said
four children I further give and bequeath to my said wife
Ann Jane Sewell to have and to hold during her natural life
two Lots of land laid off in the division of the Posey lands,
and known in said division as Lot No 1 in the East land and
No. 9 in the West of the Kentuckey road and which were
allotted to George W. Posey and upon which he lives, and
being part of my purchase from said Posey said two lots
containing when consolidated twenty two and three fourth
acres and devised from each other by the Kentuckey road
and after her death I give and bequeath the said two lots of
land to my said four children Margaret Virginia James

CLAIBORNE 111

Joseph, Houston and Mary Louisa and to their heirs and
assigns forever

Secondly — I give and bequeath to my daughter Margaret
Virginia Sewell and to her heirs and assigns forever my
negro woman Lucy and her increase if any in Leiu and stead
of the negro man Mack taken from a former bequest to my
said daughter. I further give and bequeath to my said
daughter Margaret Virginia Sewell, and to her heirs and
assigns forever Lots No. 10 and 11 and all the Lot No. 9
except the part cut off by the Kentuckey road and upon
which I have lately built a Brick Shop — said Lots lying in the
corporate Limits of Tazewell, in what is called New Town.

Thirdly I give and bequeath to my son James Joseph Sewell
in addition to what I have before given him and to his heirs
and assigns forever that part of Lot No. 9 in what is called
New town not above bequeathed to my daughter Margaret,
and being the part upon which my Brick Shop is built,
including said Shop, and I also give and bequeath to my said
son two sets of Blacksmiths tools now on hand in the shop I
also give and bequeath to my said son James Joseph Sewell
and to his heirs and assigns forever my Lot No. 26 in what is
called new town and upon which John Russel formerly lived

Fourthly — I give and bequeath to my daughter Margaret
Virginia Sewell and to her heirs and assigns forever a cer-
tain Lot of land immediately north of Tazewell and between
the town Lots and the Posey Spring and west of the Mul-
berry road and which I lately purchased from Alexander
Fullington and hold by title Bond the deed not being yet
made I also give and bequeath to my said daughter
Margaret Virginia Sewell and her heirs and assigns forever
a tract of land in Powells Valley purchased by me from
Thos L. Davis containing two hundred and seventy acres
more or less adjoining the Brewster lands.

Fifthly I give and bequeath to my four children Margaret
Virginia Sewell, James Joseph Sewell, Houston Sewell, and
Mary Louisa Sewell, and to their heirs and assigns forever a

1 1 2 Tennessee County History Series

certain tract of land in Claiborne county on both sides of the
Kentuckey road near Tazewell containing one hundred and
ninety acres, more or less, and which tract of land I lately
purchased from George W. Posey and also to include what is
called the pond Lot No. 1 also purchased from said Posey.

Sixthly I hereby give and bequeath to my wife Ann Jane
Sewell the rents and profits of all my lands and lots hereby
bequeathed to my children herein named until they respec-
tively arrive at the age of twenty one years.

Seventhly — All lands tenements hereditaments, of which I
may die seized and possessed, not Specially bequeathed,
and which I now own or may hereafter purchase, I give and
bequeath to my said four children, Margaret Virginia,
James Joseph, Houston and Mary Louisa Sewell and to their
heirs and assigns forever.

Eighthly — Should I hereafter sell or dispose of any lands or
other property bequeathed in the will to which this is an
addition, or in this codicil, it is my wish that my so doing shall
not operate as any revocation of my will, but that the
Legater to whom the same shall have been bequeathed
shall be reimbursed for the same out of my estate to the
value of the same —

Ninthly. It is my wish and desire that should my executers or
administrators think any Swap or change of Lots or proper-
ty amongst my children, to be necessary or proper accord-
ing to circumstances they are hereby fully authorized to
make the same —

Tenthly — I hereby nominate and appoint William Houston
James F. Hooper and Walter R. Evans, executors of my will
and this codicil, which is an addition thereto — to carry into
effect my wishes as expressed in my said will and in this
addition thereto — Given under my hand and seal this 23rd
day of March 1847—.

Benjamin Sewell (Seal)

Signed Sealed and acknowledged in the
Presants of us and we cauled on by the

CLAIBORNE 113

Testator to witness the Same and witnessed in
presants of the testator the date above
James Hardy

R C Hansard

The foregoing codicil was
acknowledged before us by
Request of the Testator
and in his presants this
9th day of February 1848
John S. M. Dickinson
M. Comiger

Codicil 2nd

I Benjamin Sewell being of Sound minde and disposeing
memory for the more Satisfactory disposition of my estate
after my death do make and establish this Second codicil to
my last will and Testament to wit

1st the negro Slave Laura which in my will I give to my
Grand daughter Virginia Rogers I hereby revoke and take
from her and in leiu thereof I give and bequeath to my said
Grand daughter Virginia Rogers the additional Sum of
three hundred dollars to be paid to her by my executers
after my death, with the other sum of Money heretofore
bequeathed to her.

2nd I hereby give and bequeath to my daughter Margret
Virginia Sewell in addition to the other bequeaths hereto-
fore given to her my Said negro Girl Laura and her increase
forever in order that said negro girl may go with her
mother who was in my will bequeathed to my Said daughter
Margret Virginia Sewell and on account of this bequest to
the said Margret Virginia sewell I hereby revoke so much of
my former bequest to her as give to her and her heirs a
certain tract of land in Claiborne County on the water of
Syckamoore Creek containing Sixty acres more or less and
which I bought of Ransom Dayjun. as 1 expect to make Sale
of Said land.

1 14 Tennessee County History Series

3rd I hereby confirm all things contained in my will and 1st
Codicil and which have not been revoked or altered by me
at this time.

4th as I have a grate meny debts owin to me and which it is
prabable my executers cannot collect otherwise than by
taking produse or labor I therefore hereby authorise and it
is my wish that my executers proceed to collect all such
debts when ever they can do so either in produse and which
shall be applide to the use of my presant famaley or in work
or labor for the benefit of my present famaley or of my
estate hereby vesting a discrestianary power in my execu-
ters with regarde to all such debts and all collections in this
way for the use of my presant famaley shall be good and
vailed and my said executers shall be allowed therefor an
Settlement as if paid out in the ordinary way.

5th as I have in contemplation to build a new mill upon my
lands called the dobbs place and which land is bequeathed
to my son Houston Sewell it is my wish and disire that
should the same not be bilt or completed before my death
that my executors have the same built or completed as
contemplated by me and the said mill and appurtenances
Shall and I give and bequeath the same to my son Houston
Sewell and his heirs with the lands upon which it is to be
built, as heretofore bequeathed to him, but my wife Ann
Jane Sewell shall have the same right to the enjoyment of
the use and rents and profits, and for the same length of
time as she has heretofore given her in my other lands
bequeathed by me, but no more and no longer — And it is
my wish that my executors use such debts and funds in
building or completing said mill, as in their discretion will
be least injurious and most beneficient to my estate and
shall have the right to use all such parts or materials of the
old mill now standing as may be useful in the new mill. The
old mill to stand and kept in operation until in building the
new mill it becomes necessary to be taken to pieces or
removed. In testimony where of I have hereunto set my
hand and seal this 1st day of April 1847.

Benjamin Sewell (Seal)

CLAIBORNE 115

Signed Sealed and acknowledged in

Our presence and we cauled upon

By the testator to witness the same

The date above and done in his presence

Ates

James Hardy

R. C. Hansard

The foregoing codicil

acknowledged before us

by request of the

testator and in his

presence February 9th 1848

J. S. M. Dickinson

M. Comiger

In this is included my last will & Testament in which there is
a request that my two little sons Joseph & Houston Sewell be
educated for the Ministry but now say that is not worthwhile
unless they can be got willing as they cannot be to advantage
for to that study this I leve for the satisfaction of my execu-
ters of said will given under my hand June 18th 1847.

Attest

J. S. M. Dickinson

Benjn Sewell

Harvey Ritchie

The memorabilia of the Ritchie family included this tribute
to Harvey Ritchie, Claiborne County court clerk in the latter part
of the nineteenth century, and a representative to the Legisla-
ture in 1904. Published following Ritchie's death in 1916, the "In
Memoriam" was heavily bordered in black and was signed "Writ-
ten By A Friend."

IN MEMORIAM
HARVEY RITCHIE

The subject of this sketch, HARVEY RITCHIE, was
born in Hancock County Tennessee, on the 12th day of
December, 1845. He died on the 6th day of September,
1916, at his home in Claiborne County, Tennessee. He was

116 Tennessee County History Series

the son of Mr. James Ritchie, and his mother was formerly
Miss Barbara Parkey.

Harvey Ritchie's parents both died in 1850, leaving him
an orphan at the age of five years, to battle life as best he
might. He had two brothers, William and Peter; two sisters,
Mrs. Mary Riley (Later Mrs. Mary Neff) and Mrs. Elizabeth
Fugate. All these are dead except Peter Ritchie.

On the 20th day of June, 1867, Harvey Ritchie and Miss
Lucy Ann Mason were united in marriage, and to this union
four children were born, J. T. Ritchie, Mrs. W. N. Day, J. P.
Ritchie and W. V. Ritchie, all of whom are living and reside
in this county.

Mrs. Ritchie preceded him to the grave, having de-
parted this life on the 6th day of May, 1909, after suffering
as an invalid for more than thirty years, during all of which
time Mr. Ritchie was a devoted and attentive husband and
father.

One year after his marriage Mr. Ritchie was converted
and united with the Missionary Baptist Church, at Little
Sycamore, and lived a Christian life, and died in the Faith.

Harvey Ritchie was a public man, always working for the
betterment of the county, and helping his fellow man. He
held several offices of trust, and was always faithful in the
discharge of his duties. He was elected County Court Clerk
in 1878 and 1882 (eight years). Trustee in 1886, Justice of
the Peace in the "Old 6th" in 1 894, and Representative of his
county in 1904, proving the confidence and esteem of his
fellow man.

He had great energy and perseverance. Up to the time
of his death he was actively engaged, and was always ready
to lend a helping hand to one in need.

Harvey Ritchie is gone from earth after a long life, and
his many friends and relatives miss him sorely. His life was
careful and his time while on earth was utilized for a pur-
pose and the purpose of his life was to be careful. The
elevation and development of his children was one of his
chief ambitions, and he was always a tender father, loving
husband, loyal citizen and a kind friend.

CLAIBORNE 117

On the 12th day of August, 1916, he was united in
marriage the second time, taking to wife Miss Minnie
McBee, who is left, with the other sorrowing relatives to
mourn his departure.

May he rest in peace, and may many more men like him
be given to grace the land in which we live. He came, he
served, he has gone to his eternal reward, and the monu-
ment he leaves is more lasting than granite: the esteem and
love of his fellow man.

(Written by a friend)

John Rial Johns

Landowner, merchant, and minister, John Rial Johns and his
family came to Tazewell in the late nineteenth century and were
significant in the business and real estate activities there as well as
the Baptist denomination. A present day decendant of Johns,
Newton P. Owen, of Louisville, Kentucky, has collected informa-
tion about the Johns and related families in Hancock, Hawkins,
and Claiborne counties. He discovered that Thomas Johns lived
in central Virginia in the 1750s. Henry, Thomas's son, born in
1770, came to Hawkins County, Tennessee, before 1810 and his
first son, Rial, was born there in 1812. The family moved to
Kentucky but returned to the Grainger County area by 1830,
probably because of speculation in land values. Later Henry
purchased land along Mulberry Creek in Hancock county and
remained there for the rest of his life. Rial Johns and his wife,
Martha Alice Slaton, lived for over 30 years on a 200 acre tract on
Ivy Ridge which they later sold to Andrew J. Greene and his wife
Susan. The 12 children of Rial Johns attended Greasy Creek
Academy in Sneedville, Tennessee. Following the sale of the Ivy
Ridge land, Johns bought land in the "Flat Gap" community.

In 1887 Martha Johns died of pneumonia and was buried in
the family cemetery at Flat Gap. Following Martha's sudden
death, the aging Rial desired to continue living in his home at
Flat Gap. Rial's other children agreed to relinquish their claim to
a portion of Rial's home, if their youngest brother, John Rial,
would pledge to take care of their father. John Rial Johns had
married Sarah Ann Turner in 1885. As their family grew to

118 Tennessee County History Series

eight children, the Flat Gap home was sold and a larger house at
Straight Creek Road and the Southern Railroad tracts in
Tazewell was purchased. It was called the "Leibold Place."
Fulfilling the agreement made earlier with his brothers and
sisters, John Rial continued to care for his father until his death
in 1898. He was buried beside his wife in the family cemetery.
On November 12, 1898, John Rial Johns was ordained a
Baptist minister. His certificate of ordination reads:

This is to certify that Brother Riley Johns is a member of the
New Tazewell Baptist Church in good standing and full
membership, trusting that God has called him to preach the
gospel, we hereby license him to engage in grate work and
we offer to God our earnest prayers that he may become a
workman that needest not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the word of truth. By order of the Church this 12th day of
November 1898. Protem Elder, W. S. Winfrey, Moderator,
James B. Campbell, Church Clerk.

Early in the twentieth century the Reverend Johns and his
wife, Sarah, sold the Leibold home and farm and moved to a
residence in the center of New Tazewell. Since their names
frequently appear on land transfers, it is evident that the Johnses
owned considerable real estate during these years. The Leibold
farm contained over 200 hundred acres in what is now the
southeastern part of New Tazewell. Soon after arriving in New
Tazewell, John Rial entered the produce business with his
brother-in-law, George Livesay, who had married John Rial's
youngest sister, Eliza. During the five years that Johns and Live-
say brokered train loads of produce for northern markets, the
family continued to live in the house in the center of town.

Livesay continued the business in New Tazewell after the
partnership was dissolved, and Johns moved his family to
Andersonville, Tennessee, to make it possible for his children to
attend the academy there and to open two general stores, one in
Andersonville and one in Bethel. Johns worked in the vicinity as
an itinerant Baptist evangelist and continued his business enter-
prises until 1919 when the family moved to the Clinton, Tennes-
see, area. The last home of John Rial Johns was at Brushey Creek

CLAIBORNE 119

across from Hinds Creek Baptist Church, where he died in 1939
and was buried in the church cemetery. His wife, Sarah, died in
1941 and was buried beside her husband at Brushey Creek.
Other related family names include Amyx, Blankenbecker,
Crutchfield, Drinnon, Eaton, Fincannon, Gordon, Greene,
Payne, Saylor, Stapleton, Stone, Wilder, and Wolfe.

Fielding Lewis

Fielding Lewis, ancestor of the Mark Lewis family of banking
note in Tazewell and Harrogate, was born in 1767 and married
Mary Gamble in 1790 in North Carolina. They moved to
Hawkins-Grainger-Claiborne County area and bought 540
acres of land for about $500 in 1801. Their twelve children in-
cluded six boys and six girls, the girls marrying into the Goin,
Harp, Moore and Simmin families. The homeplace is thought
to have been in the Lilly Grove Community. William Lewis, the
oldest son born in 1792, married Sarah (Sally) Boyers in 1813.
Sixteen children, eight boys and eight girls, were born to this
couple. Through marriage, Arnwine, Beeler, Campbell, Davis,
Leabor, Mayes, Waymeyer, and Walker became related
family names.

The Long Bottom Community, about five miles from Long
Mountain, was another Lewis homeplace. The third son of
William Lewis, James M. Lewis, was born in 1821 and from his
marriage to Sally Russell was born William Lewis in 1860.
William married Mary Shumate in 1890, and they produced
twelve children, one of the seven boys being Mark Isaac, born in
1903. The girls married into Day, Gose, and Ryan families. Mark
Lewis married Stella Parkey, and they have five children. Other
Day, Gose, Lewis, and Ryan children number about 22, and
there are numerous grandchildren.

These early settlers came to the county and brought with
them the talents and perseverence to create a lasting imprint
upon the land and to create a sense of community among them
which is the great legacy to today's citizens.

Suggested Readings

Braun, Myrtle Wolfinbarger and Phillips, Sharon Chadwell. The Chad-
well Heritage. San Rafael, Ca.: published by authors, n.d.

Breeding, Robert. From London to Appalachia. Knoxville: published by
author, 1979.

Channing, Edward. A History of the United States, Vol. II. New York:
Macmillan, 1921.

City of New Tazewell Records, City Hall.

City of Tazewell Records, City Hall; especially the Dockett of 1846-
1848.

Claiborne County Hospital and Nursing Home Records, Tazewell.

Claiborne County Records; Minutes of the Court from 1801 to 1978,
with some missing, due to the fires; Deeds in the Register's office.

Cloud, Benjamin. "Old Time Tazewell." Articles published in the
Claiborne Progress spanning a thirty-year period; now collected and
bound in book form in the possession of William Guy Harrell,
Tazewell.

Corkran, David H. The Cherokee Frontier: Conflict and Survival. Norman:
University of Oklahoma Press, 1962.

Earle, Jefferson D. "Memoirs," unpublished manuscript, Knoxville.

Edwards, Lawrence. Gravel in My Shoes. Montevallo, Al.: Times Print-
ing Company, 1963.

and Davis, Joy Edwards. Old Speedwell Families, Revised. Easley,

S.C.: Southern Historical Press, n.d.

Goodspeed, Weston A., et al., eds. History of Tennessee, Reprint. Nash-
ville: Charles and Randy Elder, 1972.

Graham Papers, four boxes. McClung Collection, Lawson McGhee
Library, Knoxville; these include the Graham-Chittum contract of
1847, prepared by Mrs. Frank T. Rogers.

Greene, Evarts B. The Foundations of American Nationality. New York: F.
Ungar, 1968.

Hamer, Phillip M., ed. Tennessee: A History, 1673-1932. New York:
American Historical Society, Inc., 1933.

Harlow, Ralph V. The Growth of the United States. New York: Henry
Holt, 1932.

121

122 5 uggested R eadings

Leithold. Esther Moreland. AND THIS is our heritage. Privately printed
about 1940; a copy loaned to the author.

Lewis. Mark. "The Lewis Family," unpublished manuscript; a genea-
logical record in the possession of Mrs. Mark Lewis, New Tazewell.

Kincaid, Robert L. The Wilderness Road. Indianapolis and New York:
Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1947.

McClung Collection, Lawson McGhee Library, Knoxville. A catalog is
maintained on microfilm roll of deeds, surveys, stage books, wills,
reports of guardians and administrators or executors of estates.
Those rolls of special usefulness for this area are 1-2, 4, 8-15, 18-36.

Morris, Easton. Tennessee Gazeteer, 1834. Robert M. McBride and Owen
Meredith, eds. Nashville: The Gazeteer Press, 1971.

Ramsey, James G. M. Annals of Tennessee to the End of the Eighteenth
Century. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1860.

Rogers, Wilma. The Rogers Heritage. Speedwell, Tn.: published by au-
thor, n.d.

Selzer, Elmer E. Ghost Railroads of Tennessee. Harrogate, Tn.: n.p.

Suppiger, Joseph E. Phoenix of the Mountains. Harrogate, Tn.: Lincoln
Memorial University Press, 1944.

Tazewell Baptist Church Minutes, 1845-1868, manuscript in posses-
sion of Mrs. Glenn Yoakum, Tazewell.

The Story of Lincoln Memorial University. Harrogate, Tn.: Lincoln Memo-
rial University Press, 1977.

The Tazewell Story, A Case Study of the Economic Development of a Depressed
Southern Appalachian Community. Area Redevelopment Administra-
tion, August, 1966.

Van Tyne, Claude H. The Causes of the War of Independence. New York:
Peter Smith, 1951.

War Records Division, Military Department of Tennessee, Nashville.

Wilson, Mary Lorene Hansard. Old Time Tazewell. Kingsport: Kings-
port Press, 1979.

Index

Abernathy, Thomas, 13

Abingdon Academy, 27

Academies, See Schools and Colleges

Academy Hollow, 24, 40-41

Achorn, E. O., 48

Adair, John, 14

Addams, Jane, 63

Agriculture, 2, 26, 76, 80; agent of, 29

Airport, 82, 84

Albert, Linzy, 82

Allen, James, 106

Alston, Harvey, 69

Alston, John, 69

Ambulance services, 66

American Association, Limited, 73

American Missionary Association, 43

Anderson and Watson, construction

company, 65
Anderson, county of, 9
Anderson, Samuel R., 33
Andersonville, Tn., 118
Andrews, So. Caro., 86
Appalachian Mountains, and area, 1,

6-7, 38, 42, 81
Architects, 65, 90

Area Redevelopment Act, 81, 85-86
Army, men in, 68; units of, 69
Arnstein, Meyer and Seymour, 81
Arthur, Alexander A., 73; home of, 49
Arthur, Macaulay, 45
Arthur, Tn., 44, 73, 79-80, 84,

Center, 79
Atkin, Sam, 52
Ausmus, John, 55
Ausmus, Thomas, 40
Avery, Fred B., 45, 48
Avery Hall, 49
Avery, Samuel P., 48

Bailey Gap, 16
Baldridge, William, 16
Baldwin, Alfred, 29
Baldwin, Elmer, 51
Baldwin, James W., 29, 51
Baldwin, Walter E., 29, 51

Baldwin, Willis, 26-27

Bales, Archer, 20

Ball Creek Spring, 75

Ball, T. H., 61

Banks, 91, 95-100; early money

lenders, 101
Baptists, 29, 31-32, 70, 117-119;

churches, 31, 36, 70-71, 116, 118-119
Barassions, James, 21
Baring Brothers, 73
Barnard, James, 56, 61
Barren Creek, 14, 17, 58, 60, 91-92;

community of, 27, 52
Baxter, E. D., 34
Bean's Station, 34
Beaty, Wilma, 63
Beeler, Herschel, 75
Bellamy, Andrew, 26
Bellamy, Callie, 27
Bellamy, Orleana Mayes, 27
Bellamy, Walker, 27
Bell County, Ky., 1-2
Bent Creek, Tn., 25
Bethel, Tn., 118
Bible Society, 96
Big Creek, 36

Big Sycamore Knob, 4, 19, 75
Big Valley Road, 58
Bituminous, road surfacing, 62
Boat dock, (picture) 83
Blacks, 38, 48, 91-92
Blount, William, 14
Blue Hole, the, 5, 91
Bolinger, William, 58
Boone, Daniel, 2, 7
Booth, John Wilkes, 39
Boone, David, 43
Bostic, H. F., 56
Bowyer, Luke, 9, 1 1
Boyers, Sarah (Sally), 119
Bragg, Braxton, 36
Bray, James, 1 1
Breeding, Alma, 70
Breeding, Clyde, 89
Breeding, James Carl, 69-70

123

124

Index

Breeding, Stanley, 70

Bridges, 55, 58-59

Brock. George, 21

Brock, John, 20

Brooks. Bill M., 88-89

Brooks, Delbert, 72

Brooks Furniture Manufacturing Com-
pany (Brookline), 81; (pictures) 83

Brooks, Hilt, 52, 81

Brooks, Milt, 52

Brushey Creek, 118-119

Bruster, John and John V., 104

Bullards' ferry, 19

Bullard, Jack, 17

Buis, J. L., 56

Buis, W. E., 64

Bunch Hollow, 58; Bridge, (picture) 59

Burdine, Betsey D., 103-104

Burdine, John Livis, 104

Burdine, Samuel Patton, 104

Burrough, William H., 35

Businesses, 5, 17, 21, 23, 27, 75,
101, 118

Caldwell and Company, 61

Campbell, Alexander, 20

Campbell, county of, 1, 16, 36, 56, 58,

81-82
Campbell, James B., 118
Campbell, J. M., 81
Camp Oglethorpe, 67
Camp Sneed, 35
Capital punishment, 39-41
Capp, Nathaniel B., 16
Carding mill, 26
Carey, John, 9-10
Carnegie Hall, 48
Carr, Catherine, 79
Carr Gap, 2, 60
Carr, M. B., 67
Carr, Nannie Mae, 52
Carr, R. F., 56, 58, 64
Carson-Newman College, 51, 55
Cartwright, Peter, 31
Castle Rock, 17, 24-25, (picture) 24, 36
Catholics, 60
Caves, in county, 5
Cedar Fork, 19, 35, 58, 61; Valley, 4
Chadwell, Charles, 74
Charleston, So. Caro., 21
Chattanooga, 85
Chota, 6
Check, James N., 16

Cherokee, 5

Chisum, James, 9-10

Chittum, Wesley, 24, 70

Chumley, Berniece, 52

Chumley,J. H., 58

Chumley, John, 27, 52

Churches, 29, 31, 36, 43, 70-71, 90, 94

Cirillo, Marie, 79

Civic center, 79

Civil War, 25-27, 32-39, 42-43, 69-70;
officers in, 33-38; veterans of, 38

Claiborne County, passim; chamber of
commerce, 77; climate, 5; creation of,
9; courts, 8, 10-14, 17, 19, 39-41, 51,
55-61, 64-65, 84, 88-89; courthouses,
(pictures) 61-62, 70; government, 8-9,
17, 20, 56-57, 88-89; jail, 11; map, 3;
officials, 9, 42, 56-58, 61, 64-65, 78,
88-89, 115-116; population of, 23, 38,
76, 84; seat of, 9-10

Claiborne County High School, 29, 51-
52, (picture) 53, 69, 77, 79, 81, 86

Claiborne County Hospital, 65-66

Claiborne County Utility District, 75, 85

Claiborne Progress, 10

Claiborne Textile, Inc., 85-86

Claiborne, William C. C, 9

Clairfield, 2, 59, 79; Center, 79

Clayton, E. R., 65

Clear Fork River, 59

Clear Fork Valley, 59

Clinch River, 2, 7, 13-14, 17, 19, 27, 58;
Mountain, 19, 21

Cline, Paul H., 70

Clinton, Tn., 118-119

Cloud, Benjamin, 10

Cloud, Jacob, 106

Cloud, Samuel, 9

Coal, 2, 43-44, 59-60, 73, 84

Cobb, Joseph, 9

Cocke, John and William, 14

Cockran, David H., 6

Coke, John, 16

Cook, Mercurious, 20

Coleman, J. S., 61

Colleges, see Schools and colleges

Comby Ridge, 4

Community Action Committee, in
county, 60, 77-80

Confederates, 33-39

Congregational Church, 43

Consolidation Coal Company, 60

Cosby, Rondal Pete, 88

Index

125

Comiger, M., 110, 113, 115

Cowan City, 74

Cowan, Newton, 71

Cowan, S. A., 74

Craft, Ezekial, 9

Creeks, in county, 5

Crime, in county, 11-13, 39-41, 88

Crops, in county, 76-77; see Farms,

farmers
Crutchfield, Billy, 41
Cudjo's Cave, 84
Cumberland Ford, 34
Cumberland Gap, 1-2, 7-9, 19, 34-36,

39, 44-45, 55, 58-60, 73; pictures of,

4, 37, 76; Hotel, 44-45
Cumberland Mountain, 2, 4, 16-17, 73;

Pike, 57
Cunningham, J. M., 58

Dairy products, 76-77

Dams, 5, 26-27, 29

Davis, Elnathan, 17

Davis, Hazel, 63

Davis, Jefferson, 33

Davis, Nathaniel, 14

Davis, Thomas L., 99, 111

Davis, William I., 57

Davy, Aaron, 20

Dawson, Christopher, 19

Day, Ransome, Jr., 106, 113

Day, W. N., 61; wife of, 116

DeCoursy, John F., 36

Delozier, A. P., 58

Democrats, 33, 37

Dewey, John, 54

Dickinson, John S. M., 110, 113, 115

Diseases, in county, 64-65

Divine, Paul E., (picture) 72

Dixie Highway, 60, 62

Doakes Theological Seminary, 96,

99, 108
Dobbs, Chesley, 107
Dobbs, William, 19
Donelson, Stokely, 14
Donlin Sportswear, 81, 86, (pictures) 87
Doughterty, John, 20
Draft Board, in county, 67
Dri-Set, Inc., 85
DeBusk, Bill, 74
DeBusk, Ethel Mary, 51
DeBusk, John, 52
DuBusk, Perry E., 29, 51
Duncan, Edward, 74

Dunn, I. R., 58

Duo, Tn., 27

Dyer, Marshall, 71-72

Eager, C. F., 45

Earl, Jefferson Davis, 52

Earl, Jefferson Davis, Jr., 69

Eastrage, Lawson, 103

East Tennessee Council on Aging, 72

East Tennessee State Planning

Commission, 75
East Tennessee State University, 88
Eaton, William G., 97
Economic Opportunity Act, 78-79
Economy, 23, 25-27, 29, 33, 38, 43,

56-57,66, 71, 76-88
Education, 29, 41-55, 78-79; see Schools

and colleges
Edwards, John, 58
Elections, 33, 37-38, 51, 70, 88-89
Electricity, 75-76, 86
Elison, Thomas, 103
Ely, Elaine, 79
England, Charlie, 85
England, English, the, 5-7, 73-74
England Manufacturing Company, 85
Entertainment, places of, 19
Epidemics, in county, 64-65
Episcopalians, 31
Epperson, Ray, 71
Essary, Joe Frank, 72
Estep, James D., Jr., 65
Evans, Elijah, 19
Evans, George, 19
Evans, James P., 70
Evans, John, 20
Evans, Joseph, 14

Evans, Walter, 9-10, 14, 17, 24, 109, 112
Evins, Andrew, 9
Ewing, 52

Farmer, John, 16

Farmers Home Administration, 84

Farms, farmers, 19, 26-27, 29, 38, 45,

52, 63-64, 69, 80; see Crops
Federal Aviation Commission, 84
Ferries, 17, 19
Fires, in county, 75
Fishing Creek, Ky., 36
Fishing, fishers, 5, 7, 27
Flat Gap, 117
Flat Lick, Ky., 34
Fletcher, B. M., 56, 64

26

Index

Flour mills, 27

Floods, in county, 27

Flvnn. S. H., 78

Fonde, 2; Mountain, 59

Forge Ridge High School, 52, 77

Former, W. F., 58

Four Seasons Hotel, 44, 73

France, 6

Francisco, Lon, 51

Freedman's Bureau, 48

Free Soilers, 37

Friar, H. H„ 64

Frit, Samuel, 20

Frost, Simeon, 16

Fugate, Elizabeth Ritchie, 116

Fugate, Thomas, 52

Fugate, Will A., 65

Fulkerson, James and FranceSj

93-94, 100
Fulkerson, P. G., 50-51, 55, 71
Fulkerson, R. Frank, 34
Fullington, Alexander, 1 1 1
Fultz, Ronald, 88
Fur trade, traders, 7-8

Galbreath, Helen E., 52
Gamble, Mary, 119
Gammons, Gaines, & Company, 21
Gaps, 2, 7, 16, 34, 60, 117; see

Cumberland Gap
Garrison Road, 95
Geography, of county, 1-5
Geology, of county, 4-5
Georgia, state of, 5, 67
Germans, 7
Gibson, E. J., 64
Gilbert, Marshall L., 88
Giles, Rufus, 86-87
Glasgow, James, 14
Goin, John L., 67
Goin,J. P., 56, 64
Goin, Iona Holt, (picture) 50
Goins, Uriah, 14
Gose, C. W., 84
Gose, Eph, 72, 84
Gose, Kelly, 84

Graham, Catherine Nenney, 25
Graham, Francis, 91, 96
Graham, Hugh, 17, 21, 23-25, 33, 36,

90, 93, 95, 98, 100
Graham, John, 95, 97
Graham, Margaret, 90-93, 98-100
Graham, Maria, 95, 97
Graham, Thomas P., 70

Graham, William, 17, 20, 23, 42, 50, 90;

will of, 90-101
Grainger, county of, 1, 9, 14, 56,

117, 119
Grant-Lee Hall, 46
Greasy Creek Academy, 1 17
Greasy Hollow, 58
Great Valley of East Tennessee, 2, 4
Greeley, Horace, 37

Greene, Andrew J. and wife, Susan, 117
Greer, A. J., 64
Greer, G. W„ 58
Greer, John, 52
Grist mills, 5, 25-27, 29
Grubb, Iveron, 89
Gulf of Mexico, 1

Hall, John, 14

Hamilton, Ethel, 51

Hamilton, Samuel, 103

Hancock, county of, 1, 58, 117

Hanging, public, 39-41

Hansard, A. C, 70

Hansard, R. C, 109, 113, 115

Harbin, Douglas, 72

Hardin, E. J., Ill, 71-72

Hardy, James, 109, 113, 115

Harkleroad, Faye, 79

Harris, Isham G., 33

Harrodsburg, Ky., 21

Harrogate, England, 73

Harrogate, Tn., 44-46, 58, 65, 78, 88,

119; Inn, 45
Harrow Hall High School, 45, 48
Hart, Noah, 16
Harvy, ThosJ., 103
Hawkins, county of, 9, 117, 119
Headstart Program, 78-79, 81
Health services, 59-60, 63-66
Helms, James, 16

Henderson, Richard, 13; landgrant, 19
Henderson, William, 14
Herbert, B. B., 48
Herrel, Drury, 1 1
Higdon, Harold, 85
Highway 25 East, 75, 85
Hill-Burton Act, 65
Hinds Creek Baptist Church, 118-119
Hiwassee College, 55
Hodges, G. B., 65
Hodges, N. C, 71
Hodges, William H., 67
Hollinsworth, John A., 105
Holt, Alice, 29, (picture) 30

Index

127

Holt Cove, 29

Holt, Clarence, T., 69

Holt, Edgar A., 29, 78, 80

Holt farm, 29

Holt, Newton Lafayette, 27-28; General

Merchandise Store, 27, 38
Honeycutt, Annanias, 39-41
Hooper, James F., 112
Home construction, 71, 77, 84, 86, 88
Hoop Creek Community, 38
Hospitals, 59-60, 65-66, 86
Hotels, 44-45
Houston, Hugh, 93
Houston, William, 70, 92, 100, 112
Howard, Oliver Otis, 39, 42-43, 45,

48-49
Howard University, 48
H. T. Hackney Wholesale Grocery, 86
Huddleston, John, 20
Huffaker, Clvde, 80
Huffaker, Peter, 12, 17
Hufstedler, Dorene, 75
Hughes, J. H., 64
Hull House, 63
Human Services, dept. of, 63
Hunt, John, 9-11, 21; home of,

(picture) 10
Hunter, Wade, 89
Hunting and hunters, 5, 7-8, 13
Hurst, Emma Jo, 78
Hurst, John M., 56, 64
Hurst, William D., 65,88

Indians, 2, 5-8

Industries, 5, 25-27, 29, 77, 84-88

Inns, 19

Insurance rates, effects of, 85-86

Iroquois, 5

Iron, 73

Ivy Ridge, 117

Jacksboro Road, 58

Jackson, A. E., 35

James, Darwin R., 45

James, Frank, 40

James, R., 48

Jaynes, W. S., 61

Jennings, Frank, 56

Jennings, L. T., 58

Johns, Henry, 1 17

Johns, John Rial, 117-119; related

family names, 1 19
Johns, Rial, 117
Johns, Sarah, 117-118

Johns, Thomas, 117

Johnson, Andrew, 36-39

Johnson mill, 27

Jones, Matilda, 104

Jones, W. H., 64

Jordon, Tommy, 79

Juries, early, in county, 20; members of,

list, 20
Juvenile court, in county, 63

Keck, John, 58, 64

Keeny, A. B., 61

Kehr, Cyrus, 46

Kennedy, John, 81

Kentucky Road, 9-10, 17, 19, 21, 24, 27,

40, 44, 56, 59-60, 91, 95, 97, 106-107,

110, 112
Kentucky, state of, 2, 7, 9, 13, 19, 33, 36
Kesterson, A. B., 45
Ketron,J. R., 57
Ketron, Robert T., 67
Kincaid, William, 16
Kirkpatrick, William, 70
Kivett, James J., 67
Kivett, J. P., 56
Kivette, Charlotte, 52
Kivette, Lois, 52
Knox, county of, 14, 23
Knoxville, 9, 19, 34-35, 44, 52, 70,

72-73, 75
Knoxville, Cumberland Gap, and

Louisville Railroad, 73
Knoxville Road, 56

Lambert, J. B., 56, 64

Lambert, Lewis, 64

Lambert, Tom, 28

Land agents, 7; traders, 6

Land grants, 13-17

Lane, Isaac, 9-10, 20

Lane, Jesse B., 70

Lane, Thomas, 14

Lanham, Abel, 9-10, 20

Lanhan, Sally, 106

Larry, John Hale, 46

LaSalle University, 88

Lead Mine Bend, 13-14, 34

Lee County, Va., 1-2

Leibold Place, 1 18*

Lewis, Fielding, 9, 119; related family

names, 1 19
Lewis, Mark, 1 19
Lewis, James M., and wife, Sally

Russell, 119

128

Index

Lewis. William and wife, Sally,
Libraries. 49; personal, 23, 91, 93
Lincoln, Abraham, 33, 37-39, 42-43,

45. 48
Lincoln Memorial University, 39, 42-55,

69, 73
Lincoln Museum, 50
Literacy, in county, 42-43
Littell, Edward, 23, 33
Little Barren Creek, 19
Little Creek, 16

Little Red School for the Retarded, 79
Little Ridge, 4
Little Sycamore, 19, 29, 58, 116; Creek,

10, 16-17; Valley, 4
Little Tennessee River, 6
Lilly Grove Community, 119
Livesay, George and wife, Eliza Johns,
Livestock, 12, 26
L 8c N Railroad, 44
London, England, 73
Lone Mountain, 4, 52, 58
Lonesome Valley, 5, 25, 38, 51;

community of, 27; Creek, 29;

Elementary School, 51
Long Bottom, community of, 119
Long Mountain, 119
Longstreet, James, 34
Loope, Edna, 79
Luce, Jean, 79
Lynch, F. L., 64
Lynch, Loalles, 52
Lynch, J. F., 56
Lynch, John, 21

Macadam road surfacing, 55, 61
Maddox, J. W., 56
Maddy, William, 16
Magazines, early, 23
Manday, James, 103-104
Manning, Noah, 58
Marsee, Dewey, 79
Marcum, Beverly, 107
Marcum, Peter, 16-17, 107
Margraves, Tennessee, 24
Martin, Salathiel, 20
Mason, Lucy Ann, 1 16
Mathis, S. E., 61
Maryville College, 55
Mayes Chapel Methodist Church, 29
Mayes, Daniel H., 27; and wife,
(picture) 28

Mayes Elementary School, 29,

(picture) 30
Mayes, James, 26-27, 38
Mayes, Jerrield D., 26-27, 38
Mayes, Jonathan, 25-27
Mayes, Luther, 29, 51
Mayes, Marion, 61
Mayes, Polly, 26
Mayes, Sara Katherine, 27
Mayes, Sarah C, 27
Mayes, William C, 27
Mayes, W. E., 58, 61
Mayes, W. S., 27
McAmis, A. A., 70
McBee, Minnie, 1 17
McClellan, George B., 37
McCown, John P., 34
McDaniel, Charlie Haynes, 89
McDaniel, McCoy, and Company, 56
Mclver, John, 16
Mclane, Thomas, 16
McMinn, Joseph, 20
McNealance, Jane, 93-94, 97
McNeeley, Hugh, 65
Memphis Bank of Tennessee, 96-97
Methodist Episcopalians, 31
Methodists, 29, 75

Midas Corporation, 85, (pictures) 87
Middlesboro, Ky., 44, 52, 59, 72-73,

84,88
Mines, 60, 73; see Coal, Iron
Minerals, in county, 1-5
Mingo smallpox camp, 64
Mink, C. E., 61
Ministers, 117-119
Minton, C. H., 61
Minton, John, 69
Missionary Baptist Church, 116
Mitchell Mountain, 1
Mobile home construction, 84-85
Montgomery, George W., 67
Morley, Lizzie Mae, 80
Morrison, J. H. S., 56-57, 60, 67
Moss, A. M., 58
Mountains, in county, 1-2, 4, 7
Moyers, Millard, 64
Moytoy of Great Tellico, 6
Mulberry Creek, 117
Mulberry Gap, 16
Munsey, Jack, 89
Murphy, John, 1 1
Murphy, Reid, 85

Index

129

Murray, William, 103
Myers, A. A., 43-45

Nashville, 61

National Union Party, 37-38

Nations, Joseph, 9-10

Navy men, in county, 67-69

Neeney, J. H., 56

Neil, James B., 70

Neil, John, 21

Neil, William, 70

Nettleton, Grace, 45

Nevils, Clyde, 85

Nevils, G. S., 56, 61

Newport, Cavender, 9, 20

Newspapers, 10

New Tazewell, 60, 65, 70-77, 79, 82,

84-86, 88-89, 118; Center, 79;

government of, 74-75;

officials of, 74-75
New Tazewell Baptist Church, 118
New Tazewell Methodist Church, 75
Nicholson Coal Company, 64
Norris Dam, 27; Lake, 2
Norris Homes, 84-85, (pictures) 87
North Carolina, 1, 6-7, 13-14
Northern Bank of Kentucky, 95, 100
Northern Bank of Tennessee, 98-99
Norton, Va., 44
Norvell, James S., 16
Nursing homes, 65-66

Occupations, in county, 21

Office of Economic Opportunity, 77,

80-81
Old School Foreign Mission Society, 96
Old Town Creek, 17
Oneita Knitting Mills, 86
Ore Bed Junction, 73
Overton, Douglas, 72
Overall Economic Development

Program, 82
Overton, F. F., 55, 58
Overton, M. F., 45
Owen, Newton P., 117
Owens, John, 9

Park, W. A., 56
Parkey, Barbara, 116
Parkey, C. H., 58
Parkey House, (picture) 12
Parkey, Stella, 119

Parkey, W. C, 61
Parks, 71
Parine.J. W., 71
Patterson, C. F., 46
Patterson, Nancy, 98
Patterson, Robert, 100
Patterson's Crossroads, 34, 58
Patterson, William G., 98
Payne, L. G., 60
Peabody College, 63
Peal, George, 9
Pearson farm, 29
Pearson, Henry, 29
Percival, Bryan Catherine, 52
Perryman, James A., 19
Petrie, George, 14
Petree, Orville, 79
Philadelphia, Pa., 100
Philomathean Literary Society,

(picture) 49
Physicians, 78
Pike, Jacob, 103
Pillow, Gideon J., 33
Pioneers, 2, 6

Pinnacle, the, 2, (picture) 4, 34
Planning commissions, in county, 82
Politics, 38; political parties, 33,

36-37, 51
Poore, Ewin, 69

Poore, Pleasant H., (picture) 28, 64
Poor house, in county, 1 1
Poor, Katherine, 69
Poor Valley Ridge, 4, 16
Posey, Benjamin, 14, 17
Posey, David C, 106
Posey, George W., 110, 112
Posey spring, 41, 111
Post offices, 27
Powell Mountain, 4
Powell River, 2, 5, 7, (picture) 8, 13-14,

16-17, 19, 34, 58-59, 84, 102-103;

Bridge, 58
Powell Valley, 2, 4, 7, 9, 13, 19, 27, 40,

77, 84, 88, 104, 111; Electric Co-op,

75-76; High School, 52, 77; Road,

58-59; Utility District, 84
Presbyterians, 21, 31-32, 60, 94-95;

churches, 17, 31,90,94-95
Pursifull, H. H., 58

Railroads, 43-44, 55

Rainfall, in county, 5, 17, 25, 27

130

Index

Ramsey, Hugh Trent, 67

Ramsey, Josiah, 21

Rea, George L., 65

Real Estate, 13; tax, 20

Real, George, 20

Religion, 25, 29, 31-32, 60, 94-95;

see Churches
Recreation vehicles, construction of,

84-85
Renfro, James, 9-10, 20
Republicans, 33, 36-37, 51
Resorts, 73
Rice, C. Y., 70
Richardson, David, 16, 100
Richardson, Sam, 28
Ridges, in county, 4
Riley, J. D., 61
Riley, James H., 56
Riley, Mary Ritchie, (also Neff,

Mary), 116
Ritchie, Harvey, 115-117
Ritchie, James, 116
Ritchie, J. P. 116
Ritchie, J. T., 116
Ritchie, Peter, 116
Ritchie, William, 116
Ritchie, W. V., 116
Ritter, James, 16
Rivers, in county, 2, 5
Roads, 17, 59-62; bonds, 55-60
Roane, Archibald, 8-9
Robertson, S. R., 58
Rock Castle, Ky., 36
Rocky Mountains, 1-2
Rogers Brothers Farms, 29
Rogrs, C. G., 61
Rogers, David William, 27
Roger's Gap, 34
Rogers, J. C., 64
Rogers, J. E., 67
Rogers, Malinda, 104
Rogers, Virginia, 104, 113
Rogers, W. B., 64
Rogers, William, 9, 20
Rosenbalm, G. W., 56
Rowe, Harry D., 74
Russell Creek, 14, 24, 91, 95, 105-107
Russell, John, 111
Russell, Sally, 119
Ryan, Joseph, 21

Sandlick, 17, 58, 60
Saltlicks, 21, 23

Sawmill, 26-27, (picture) 32

Scarrett College, 63

Schultz, B. F., 56, 64

Schools and colleges, 25, 27, 29-31, 39,

41-55, 66, 69, 73, 77-80, 88, 96-97,

99, 108, 117; accreditation of, 49;

subscription, 29; superintendents,

29,51,78
Scotch-Irish, 7
Scots, 6

Seligman, A. L., 48
Settlers, early, 5, 7, 20, 23, 25
Sevier, John, 35, 43
Sewage facilities, 71, 75, 78, 81-82, 85
Sewell, Ann Jane, 107-110, 112, 114
Sewell, Benjamin, 17, 90, 101; will of,

102-115
Sewell, Houston, 106-112, 114
Sewell, James Joseph, 106, 108-112
Sewell, Margaret Virginia, 105-106,

108-113
Sewell, Mary Louisa, 107-112
Sewell, Thomas, 102-103
Sharp, G. S., 61
Sharp, I. J., 64
Sharp, Marvin, 88
Shaub, Earl, 39
Shawanee, Tn., 44, 51, 58, 84
Shawnee, 5
Shelbyville, 34
Shell Hotel, (picture) 22 •
Shipley, Edward, 14
Shipley, Luther, 85
Shumate, Mary, 119
Skiagunsta, 5
Simmons, Kenneth D., 89
Sims, Mathew, 9
Singleton, Paul D., 89
"Sinks," the, 26, 29
Slaton, Martha Alice, 117
Slave and slavery, 33, 38, 91-92, 94, 98,

104, 106-107, 110-111, 113
Smallpox, 64-65
Smith, Kirby, 34-35
Sneedville, 78
Sneedwell, 1 17
Social Security Act, 62
Social services, 11, 62-65; for elderly,

71-72
Soils, in county, 1-5, 25
Soldiers, from county, 33, 67-68
Soldiers Memorial School, 79
South Carolina, 5

Index

131

Southern Railroad, 72-73, 75, 118

Springdale, community of, 10, 58

Springs, in county, 5, 25

Speedwell, 77, 89; Academy, 97

Squatters, land, 6-7

Stanifer, William, 84

State Route 33, 60, 84

Still, James, 49

Straight Creek, 14, 93-94; Road, 17, 118

Stone, Lee Dan, 81

Stuart, Jesse, 49

Sumner, county of, 14

Swab, D. C, 64

Sycamore Creek, 16, 106, 113;

Valley, 56
Sycamore Knob, 4

Tackett Creek mine, 60

Tadlock, Andrew, 21

Taxes, in county, 60

Tazewell Academy, 27

Tazewell Baptist Church, 36

Tazewell College, 3 1 , 42

Tazewell, community of, 10; city of,
16-17, 19-21, 24, 31, 34-36, 38, 40,
52, 56, 58, 60, 65, 70-77, 79, 81-82,
85-86, 91, 101, 105-107, 111-112,
117-119; chamber of commerce, 84;
government of, 70-71; officials of,
70-72; water plant, (picture) 83

Tazewell-New Tazewell Industrial
Park, 86

Tazewell Presbyterian Church, 90, 94

Tazewell Textile Industry, 85

Teachers, 69, 78-79; see Education,
Schools and colleges

Telford method, road surfacing, 61

Telephones, 75

Tennessee Conservationist, 39

Tennessee, state of; department of agri-
culture, 29; Highway Commission, 61;
Legislature, 9, 55, 58, 62, 88, 115-1 16;
Planning Commission, 82

Thomas, J. C, 58

Thomas, W. S., 58, 61

Thompson, John, 27

Timber, in county, 1-2, 5, 25-26, 43

Tobacco, growing of, 76; warehouses, 86

Torbett, Charles, 74

Transportation, 2, 5, 19, 21, 43, 60

Trappers, 7-8, 13

Trease, John, 103

Treece, N. J., 71

Trent, William, 9-10

Trimble, James, 1 1

Turner, Frederick Jackson, 13

Turner, Sarah Ann, 1 17

Tusculum College, 55

TVA, 75

Tye's Branch, 14

Typhoid fever, 65

U.S. Government, grants from, 82
Union Bank of Tennessee, 91, 97-98
Union Army, 26-27, 33
Union, county of, 1, 56, 58, 60
University of Chicago, 63
University of Tennessee, 29, 51-52, 55,

66, 80
University of Texas, 29, 51
Urban renewal, 71
Utilities, 65, 71, 75, 77-78, 81-82, 84-86

Valleys, 1-2, 4

Vanbebber, John, 9, 20

Vanderbilt University, 63

Vannoy,J. R., 88

Virginia, state of, 2, 6-9, 27, 58, 75

Vocational school, 79

Volunteers, in military, 66-67

Wagons, 21

Walker, Earnest, 89

Walker, Jacob, 63

Walker, Thomas, 2

Wallen, Elisha, 13

Wallen, Elisha, Sr., 20

Wallen, John, 7-9, 17

Wallen Ridge, 4, 7, 16, 93

Washington College, 96, 99-100

Washington, county of, 14, 96

Water, supplies of, systems, 65, 71, 75,

78, 81-82, 84-86
Watson, Asa, 103
Watts Ore Mine, 73
W. B. Browning Construction

Company, 79
Webster, Joseph, 9, 11, 20
Welch, Frank, 50
Welch, Joe Whitt, 88
Welfare, in county, 11, 62-63
Wells, Haskell, 89
Welsh, 19

Western and Atlantic Railroad, 21
Whetsel, Susanah W., 103
Whigs, 33

132 Index

hitaker. Luther. 80 Winfrey, W. S., 118

hite. Hugh. 23 Wise, Boyd A., 49

hite. Joseph. 70 World War I, 38, 51-52, 60, 66-70

hite Lvons-Companv, 64 World War II, 38, 66-70, 76

hite. N. l\, 71

idner. M. V., 64 Yauldy, Robert, 19

ier. Mary, 95, 98 Yellow Creek Coal Company, 64

ier. Thomas, 95 Yoakum, J. S., 58, 61

ild Cat. Ky.. 36 Yoakum Station, 16

ildlife, in county, 12

illiams, Joseph, 14 Zolicoffer, Felix K., 33, 35-36

ilson Gap, 2, 60

Author 133

About the Author

Edgar A. Holt, son of Sarah C. (Mayes) Holt and Newton
Lafayette Holt, was born October 12, 1900, in Lonesome Valley
near Tazewell, Tennessee. After attending Mayes Elementary
School in Lonesome Valley and graduating from the Claiborne
County High School in Tazewell, he graduated from the Lincoln
Memorial University with a B.A. in history and literature. He
received a M.A. degree in history and government from the
State University of Iowa and a Ph.D. in the same fields from
Ohio State University. His teaching career has included high
school instruction in Alton and Orange City, Iowa; college
teaching at Southern Illinois University, University of Nebraska
at Omaha, and the University of Missouri at Kansas City. He
entered the military service from Omaha and retired from the
Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel. He then returned to
Claiborne County to live on the family farm which has been
designated as a Century Farm by the Tennessee Department of
Agriculture.

Dr. Holt has published many articles in the Claiborne Progress
and has published such other works as Party Politics in Ohio,
"Steamboating on the Missouri River" in the Palimpsest, and
histories of the Air Force Academy. He has also prepared several

134 Author

volumes of classified military histories of air operations in the
Southwest and Western Pacific.

For two and one-half years, Dr. Holt served as the Executive
Director of the Claiborne County Community Action Com-
mittee.

p^l